Business
China’s influence in Africa grows: $500 million trade deal between EAC and China
While the west experiences economic difficulty, Africa contiues to look east – towards China. The west has every reason to be worried – about it’s declining influence as opposed to China’s increasing influence in Africa.
China has entered into an agreement with the East African Community (EAC) on economy, trade, investment and technical cooperation.
Officials said the parties, led by EAC Secretary General Richard Sezibera and China Vice Minister for Commerce Jiang Yaoping, discussed priority projects in infrastructure worth over US$500 million.
The agreement seeks to further open up opportunities for Sino-EAC trade, which in 2010 stood at nearly US$4 billion, 39 percent up from the previous year. In the period under review, Kenya alone saw the value of China’s exports grow by 62 percent bringing in US$1.5 billion.
