China has a long history of economic and political ties with Africa. It is one of the continent's largest trade partners, providing over $140 billion in loans to finance infrastructure projects.

Critics say that Beijing is practicing debt-trap diplomacy, by lending to countries that it knows cannot repay the loans. Additionally, as part of what has been termed ‘Palace diplomacy’ China has donated multiple million-dollar buildings--including the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa-- to a number of governments across the continent. For more analysis i spoke to Jyhjong Hwang a Global China Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. She leads research for the Chinese Loans to Africa Database for the 2021-2023 research cycles.