Economist: China’s Efforts to Win Over African Audiences

Growing ties between Chinese capital and African nations has attracted controversy in recent years. As an article for the Economist notes, “ever since the Kenyan government signed a deal in 2014 for a state-owned Chinese company to build a railway between Nairobi and Kenya’s main port in Mombasa, the project has attracted controversy.” Many Kenyans are suspicious over corruption due to the railway’s inflated cost: four times the original estimate. These concerns have received little coverage on the Chinese state-backed CGTN Africa, which opened its headquarters in Nairobi in 2012. Instead, CGTN coverage has praised the railway as “a case study” of China-Africa relations and “harmonious.” While Chinese media have had a lengthy history in Africa – the first bureau of the state news agency, Xinhua, opened in North Africa in 1958 – its presence has increased exponentially since 2008. China has initiated a mass training program for African journalists, upped its investment in private companies, and increased its media footprint across the continent. – YaleGlobal