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Italian visual artist and researcher Davide Monteleone used his photographs to show the rapid development of China’s “Belt and Road” in Africa. The French weekly “International Letters” published an article entitled “China’s Ambitious in Africa” on the 17th. The article stated: China’s “One Belt, One Road” cooperation plan promoted in Africa has brought tremendous changes to the old landscape and the lives of local people.
Photographer Monteleone used his photographic lens to record the past and present of Ethiopia and Djibouti. French media said: Italian photographers who have won three World Press Photo awards have engaged in long-term field shooting from 2014 to 2021. His works show China’s growing influence in the world through the New Silk Road.
China-Africa infrastructure cooperation has developed rapidly. Some African countries invested in the New Silk Road rely heavily on the financial support of the Beijing authorities. China has quickly become a special partner of African countries. It first wanted natural resources; then it invested heavily in infrastructure.
The Asia-Djibouti Railway that connects Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to the République de Djibouti (République de Djibouti) on the west coast of the Gulf of Aden in northeastern Africa. China provides 70% of the funds. The 750-kilometer-long railway, which was completed in 2018, covers the Ethiopian Plateau with an average altitude of more than 2500 meters from the zero-elevation Djibouti. It is designed to reach a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The 3 days for road transportation was reduced to 10 hours.
Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian once said: There are 13 countries with a population of more than 100 million people in the world, and Ethiopia is the only country without a coastline or access to the sea. The Asia-Djibouti Railway can become the main artery of Ethiopia’s economic development and the lifeline of transportation, breaking the development limitations of Ethiopia as a landlocked country.
The Port of Djibouti (Port de Djibouti) is located at the crossroads of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, connecting Europe, the Far East, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. China has established its only overseas military base in Djibouti. A French reporter said: China holds more than 70% of Djibouti’s debt, which poses a threat to its sovereignty.
China has also participated in the construction of dams in about 20 African countries. It is worth noting that Ethiopia’s “Renaissance Dam” is the largest hydroelectric power generation facility in Africa. This is a dam that is in conflict with downstream countries, and downstream countries worry that their population will no longer have enough water.
For the Gibe III hydropower station in Ethiopia, 60% of the funds are funded by China. UNESCO criticized it for destroying the ecological environment of the Omo River and Lake Turkana (Kenya), the ecosystem on which many local people in Africa depend.
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