> To be honest I don't understand why the west is not building roads and rails in Africa They are. That's called "International Development". What's unusual is

> To be honest I don't understand why the west is not building roads and rails in Africa They are. That's called "International Development". What's unusual is how much China is paying out as a proportion of their national income[0], how much they're willing to turn a blind eye to giving unpleasant people and regimes money, and how willing they are to ignore problems that their development will cause in terms of debt traps. In essence, most rich country International Development programs to date have tried to have at least a semblance of doing the right thing rather than just being completely naked influence and power grabs. As noted elsewhere in this thread, it seems there's great potential for this to blow up in the faces of the Chinese, but we'll see! [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_development_aid_country_donors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_development_aid_countr...