For years, China has been seen as the pivotal international economic partner across Africa. That was certainly true in terms of steadily rising trade volumes and a fire hose of state backed loans that built roads, railways, and ports across the continent.

But when it comes to investment, China's always been a laggard behind the United States and the former European colonial powers. Today, it's the UAE, not China, that is the continent's largest source of foreign direct investment.

Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., joins Eric to discuss his latest report on Chinese FDI in Africa and why the long-promised wave of manufacturing investment never materialized.

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