The Expansion Of China In The African Continent:an Empirical Study

The increasing weight of the political and economical axis between China and Africa is irreversibly changing the world’s equilibriums. This work has the scope to explore the characteristics of this relation through the empirical analysis of data available on the market and the study of the actors involved.After an historical review of the relation between the two parties, this work investigates which are the main drivers pushing China to the Black continent and what are the different types of engagement characterizing the relation itself. Not only foreign aid but also project finance and equity investments are part of this picture and the role of policy banks is determinant in influencing capitals flowing to Africa.A multifaceted investigation of this involvement is thus conducted through the analysis of a tailor-made database created from a complete collection of the existing data. After a study of its composition, this work tests, through the support of some cluster analyses, the links among the different peculiarities that characterize projects financed by Chinese institutions. In particular, this paper aims to check the relations among recipient countries’ GDP, sectors of investment, financers and types of financing utilized. In conclusion, a further correlation between region and sector of investment is tested providing to the reader a complete overview of the current situation.