China, from the Silk Road to the digital invasion of Africa

In a decade, China has become a major economic player in Africa. Preferred creditor of many African countries, the Asian country has granted itself a monopoly on the continent's digital infrastructure.

Is the “debt trap” closing in Africa? Chinese diplomacy, for a decade, has played its part well: Chinese loans to African countries are repaid in monopolies on calls for tenders and public-private partnerships. However, indebted countries are increasingly opting for digital infrastructure projects.

These projects, which at first glance resemble national projects to fight for the industrialization and digitalization of countries, could quickly turn into a Trojan horse of Chinese digital neocolonialism.

African countries suffocating

In total, Chinese national banks have lent $ 227 billion to African governments and state-owned enterprises. Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia, Sudan and the Republic of Congo are the most indebted countries.

So it made sense for the Chinese creditor to dictate its terms to these countries. This is the sad game of debt diplomacy. We can already notice, for several years, an increasing dependence on Chinese technology. Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) giants like Huawei, Dahua or Hikvision kill two birds with one stone. These companies dominate over 70% of the digital infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and control almost all of the submarine data cables connecting Africa to Asia, accounting for 29% of all international data and over 40%. by 2028.

With a young population and a rapidly growing middle class, the demand for bandwidth in Africa is growing. According to data from SCN (Security and communication networks), African international bandwidth increased by 45% per year between 2015 and 2019. To meet this demand, China is positioning itself as a reliable digital service provider for African countries . And that translates into aggressive investments in the construction of submarine cable systems.

In return, African countries are restructuring their debt and obtaining, at lower cost, surveillance networks, high-tech censorship tools and advanced social media surveillance capabilities. In addition to a turnkey broadband connection.

Good accounts make good allies

A striking example is Huawei's “Safe city” project. The Chinese operator has installed cameras that broadcast images directly to police headquarters in Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. Other countries have shown interest in this project. However, this data flow is linked to Huawei's servers in China, which own the rights to its information.

The “PEACE” submarine cable, owned by Hengton Group, provides high-speed internet connection to eight African countries. This cable is the subject of an investigation for unfair competition in Europe, the sale price being artificially low, which would constitute dumping. This impressive cable covers 15 kilometers and includes stations in Kenya, Djibouti, Seychelles and South Africa. It follows a route from Pakistan to France.

The spread of 5G and mobile applications in industrial processes will increase the demand for cheap, high-quality technologies and internet coverage in Africa, but at what cost? Chinese companies are pushing towards a digital network monopoly in East Africa, and the temptation is only spreading, with voracious European competition, and the growing lure of leaders adopting Chinese digital tyranny Africans. In the end, the new digital silk road only benefits one party: China.