By Salem Solomon
From the article:
In early September, James Lukuku staged a one-person protest in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, against his country’s relationship with China.
Lukuku brandished a homemade sign that read: "China EQUALS Hitler." Scrawled on his T-shirt was a plea to U.S. President Donald Trump for help.
“I want every Zambian to rise and stop the influence of China,” said Lukuku, who heads the opposition Republican Progressive Party. The ruling party, he added, was “selling this nation to the Chinese.”
Though it was a one-man protest, Lukuku is not the only person ringing alarm bells about Zambia’s relationship with China. Several opposition and civil society groups have warned that Zambia’s debt payments are unsustainable, and that China could take over businesses and public assets.
Yet despite strong rhetoric, it’s unclear exactly how indebted Zambia has become, or whether China has seized ownership of any Zambian interests.
And even as its relationship with China comes under increasing scrutiny, it is Zambia’s ties with other players that appear to be fraying.
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‘Elements of risk’
Economic woes and frustration with a government that appears to be struggling to manage its debts may have soured public perceptions of China’s role in Zambia.
But China itself has contributed to a problematic lack of transparency, Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and the director of the U.S. Development Policy Initiative, told VOA.
“There are still elements of risk that really go back to the failure of China to sign up to and be governed by a set of rules around sustainable financing,” Morris said.
“What do you do when a country is in debt stress? What rules do you follow?”
Read the full article here.