Chinese workers in Africa drop to lowest level in over 10 years due to COVID and Belt and Road cutbacks

Number of Chinese workers in Africa dropped to 88,371 in 2022, the lowest level in over a decade (from 263,696 in 2015)

Drop attributed to COVID-19 pandemic and downscaling of Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative

Unlikely to see a major rebound in numbers of Chinese workers in near future

Algeria and Angola saw biggest declines, from over 90,000 and 50,000 workers respectively to only 7,000 each in 2022

China criticized for failing to equip locals with skills or aid job creation in Africa despite massive projects, reserving senior roles for Chinese workers