China and Russia are bolstering their presence in Africa to tap its rich natural resources, analysts say, amid grave warnings from UN agencies the world's poorest countries face accumulating crippling debts.
"One out of every three major infrastructure projects in Africa is built by Chinese state-owned enterprises, and one out of every five is financed by a Chinese policy bank," said Paul Nantulya of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution within the US Department of Defense.
Russia, a key arms exporter to Africa, is also making forays into the continent including through mining projects granted to the Wagner private paramilitary group, he said.
At a UN-sponsored summit in Qatar of the Least Developed Countries this month, leaders condemned the treatment of their nations.
After Western countries reduced their infrastructure financing,
it created a void that China and Russia stepped in to fill.
"The Chinese saw the gap and decided to put their money in infrastructure," Nantulya said.
But it mostly amounts to a "debt trap", warned Anna Borshchevskaya of the Washington Institute think tank. "China offers loans for expensive infrastructure projects, but they typically fail," she said.
"The Chinese saw the gap and decided to put their money in infrastructure," Nantulya said.
But it mostly amounts to a "debt trap", warned Anna Borshchevskaya of the Washington Institute think tank. "China offers loans for expensive infrastructure projects, but they typically fail," she said."When the countries can't pay the loans, China then takes control over strategic assets of a country." .....continues.
GLAH Mal... 
YES I CONTINUE TO HOLD & BELIEVE IN MAGIC .. soon to be seen ??
