Assessing the impact of China’s belt and road initiative on trade and infrastructure development in East Africa

Abstract

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is emerging as a salient area of inquiry in understanding the economic and political relations between China and Africa. The main objective of this minidissertation is to assess the regional implications of China’s BRI goals for the EAC’s regional integration project, primarily focusing on the goals of enhanced connectivity and infrastructure development, trade and access to natural resources, and strategic alignment to EAC’s infrastructure development. The research draws primarily from the case study of China’s partnership with the EAC under the framework of the BRI. The methodology used in this research is a qualitative method, as it deliberates and defines the regional implications of China’s goals for EAC’s regional integration project, therefore, it is descriptive. To source data, the mini-dissertation adopted a qualitative research method and used a desktop research method, mainly drawing from secondary data sources such as books, journals, articles, and the internet. The research draws its theoretical framework primarily from Economic Liberalism theory.