State media in China republished a story from 2 years ago about a Chinese man who was given the title of a tribal chief in one African country. The story sparked concerns over the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) global infrastructure development strategy—being applied as a part of its expansion into Africa.
The title was awarded to Chinese engineer Kong Tao in Nigeria on April 20, 2019. He worked there as the general manager on the Aduja-Kaduna railway project, according to a Dec. 5 report from Chinese online service Sina. The project, completed in 2016, was one of many major BRI infrastructure projects in 52 out of 54 African countries, according to the Observer Research Foundation.
