[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Boy this proves that Chi-Coms are dumber then a sack of potatoes.

I don't think we have anything to worry about. China can pour all the money they want down Mugabe's rat hole and it will remain a rat hole. The "money to refurbish the stadium" is a clear indication of this. Talk about a waste of money. If they really wanted a return on their investment they would sink money into roads and actual useful infrastructure. But then Communists have never been smart. They are sinking money into a country with an economy that is shrinking on an average of 8% a year.

On the other hand India is investing in Kenya and Tanzania where the economy is expanding on the average of 6% a year.

The smart money is on India.

[A. Pole]

One should be careful not to be misled by bias. There is a tendency to evaluate countries better when they are more to us and worse when they are closer to someone else. But it is very natural and almost impossible to avoid.

[diesel00]

"money to refurbish the stadium" is a clear indication of this. Talk about a waste of money. If they really wanted a return on their investment they would sink money into roads and actual useful infrastructure.

The Chinese ARE building roads and other useful infrastructure like generators, schools and satellite communication networks. Stadium is just an example of the diversity the Chinese are willing to invest upon, and like others have said already, having a stadium is better than no stadium. The Chinese are gaining exclusive contracts and deals because of these investments. I guess we shall see in a few more decades how smart or stupid that is, but I don't think you can clearly dismiss it right now.

[diesel00]

On the other hand India is investing in Kenya and Tanzania where the economy is expanding on the average of 6% a year. The smart money is on India.

Why are you bringing India into this? Do you know how much India trades with Africa? India-African trade was $9 billion last year, while China-African trade was $42 billion last year. BTW, China trades more with Kenya than India does. Total China-Kenya trade is $475 million, while total India-Kenya trade is $249 million.

The smart money is on Africa. Africa needs as much trade as it can get to crawl out of its mess.