ABSTRACT
Railways have long been associated with the colonial project in Africa. While for some railways are an unmitigated public good, for others they represent and instantiate an extractivist aspect or orientation to the global economy, especially if their geographies further extra-continental instead of intra-continental connectivity. There has been a debate as to whether the construction of Chinese-funded railways in Africa follows the same script as earlier European colonial-sponsored ones. This chapter examines the spatial patterning of Chinese-funded railways across the continent and the factors that are driving their development in order to answer the question of whether they are powering African transport or transporting Chinese power? It argues that while there are similarities and continuities between earlier European colonial railways in Africa and later Chinese ones, there are also differences as the latter are often requested and/or funded by independent African governments, which have various motivations. As a result, Chinese railways in Africa are simultaneously powering African transport and transporting Chinese power.
