Should China Launch Its Own Version Of The Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative For Africa?

The wisest path China could take, in investing in Africa's future, in win-win fashion, would be to launch its own version of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative, so that aspirational nations in the continent, such as Ghana, can free themselves from the straightjacket of unsustainable debt, and have the fiscal-space needed to transform their societies, into prosperous and inclusive ones, benefitting all demographics. 

That is the best way to end the resentment that so many in the continent feel about Chinese involvement in Africa - with some justification, if truth be told.

The question is: Will China do what many think it is incapable of doing - seeing Africa as a future global economic  powerhouse, which it is strategically wise to assist, in its hour of need, in the post-COVID-19-era:  as opposed to seeing her as a corruption-riddled continent that China should continue to take advantage of? 

Regardless of what China's current leaders do, the fact of the matter, is that,  with its brilliant world-class digital-native younger generations, nothing can stop Africa becoming a global economic powerhouse, in any case. 

As sure as day follows night, with the launching of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is the largest free trade area in the world, connecting 1.3 billion people, across 54 out of the continent's 55 nations (Eritrea hasn't agreed to join it it yet, alas), with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US $3.4 trillion, the African rennaiasance will manifest, no matter what the rest of the world does to stop it. That transformation is unstoppable - which is why China's current leaders  would be wise to launch their own version of HIPC Initiative for Africa. Full stop. Case closed.

Sent from Samsung tablet.