As many NGOs from the West pull out of the Ebola hit West
Africa, Chinese professionals and business people, including the software giant
Huawei, are staying behind. According to Xinhua news agency, “ “Chinese
companies undertaking projects in West Africa are not scared away by the Ebola
outbreak but hold on to their commitment and win-win cooperation with countries
in Africa”.
The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has given China yet another
opportunity to prove its steadfast commitment to Africa, even as Western
companies are on full alert to evacuate their staff. However, Chinese
businesspeople may not continue for long as the Ebola virus takes a toll on the
West African region. For instance, Chinese workers in Nigeria, South Africa,
and Zambia, countries where China has huge operations,
appear to be
increasingly wary. In a news conference this week, the Vice chairman of the Chinese
chamber of Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, Xue Xiaoming, said that “Ebola has cast a shadow over new possible
investment from China.” Currently, about 20,000 Chinese nationals live in
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three countries where the Ebola outbreak
is most severe.
A growing wariness of Chinese investors could be a cause for
alarm in Africa, as China currently accounts for 30 percent of the total
infrastructure projects in Africa.
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