China's Foreign Direct Investment in Africa is Modest and Declining

Bridges Africa published on 5 July 2018 an analysis titled "China in Africa: Goods Supplier, Service Provider Rather than Investor" by Thierry Pairault, research director at France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Although is it difficult to track China's foreign direct investment because some of it goes through tax havens and is not accounted for, Ministry of Commerce statistics demonstrate that Chinese investment in Africa is modest and falling. FDI flows to Africa in 2016 totaled $2.4 billion, a decrease of 19 percent compared to 2015 ($2.9 billion), which was a decline of 7 percent compared to 2014 ($3.2 billion).

The author concludes that China is primarily a service provider (builder of infrastructure based on loans from a variety of sources and a major source of imports). Africa is more a customer than a partner. China rarely invests in infrastructure in Africa, but builds and finances African investments in infrastructure. This is a critical distinction that is poorly understood by some who write about China-Africa relations.