The China-Africa Project posted on 20 May 2021 an analysis titled "Who Is the Bigger Official Lender in Africa: China or the World Bank?" by Kevin Acker, China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
The author underscores the importance of defining terms when determining who is the bigger lender in Africa. All lending from the World Bank to African governments is "official." Only three Chinese lenders--the China Export-Import Bank, China Development Bank, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency--meet the World Bank's definition of official. CARI tracks another 27 Chinese state-owned enterprises that also make loans to Africa. When these are added, total loan commitments to Africa from all Chinese creditors from 2000 to 2019 reached $152 billion compared to $151 billion from the World Bank.
