Covid pandemic reduced Chinese loans to Africa, report

Sideview of the JKIA-Westlands Expressway deck at Uhuru Highway on June 4, 2022. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

China’s lending to African countries fell to a 16-year low in 2020 as the current Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on economies across the world.

A report by Boston University indicates that the pandemic and its economic aftershocks have adversely impacted projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), both in terms of implementation and funding.