John Gatsiounis in the Monitor:
When the new Chinese-funded African Union headquarters was recently unveiled in Addis Ababa, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema hailed the $200 million spectacle of marble and glass as “a reflection of the new Africa .” Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi called it a symbol “of the African renaissance.”...it’s a myth that Chinese infrastructure is opening Africa up to its economic potential, and it may in fact hinder it. As with the AU headquarters, many Chinese projects use Chinese labour and materials, minimising skills transfer and stunting local production.More here