A Sentiment Based Text Analysis of the Perception of Chinese Infrastructure Development in Africa: Cases from Nigeria and Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper investigates the perceptions of Africans on Chinese infrastructure development in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Using a sentiment-based text analysis methodology, this paper attempts to understand the perceptions and sentiments of Nigerians and Ethiopians on Chinese infrastructure projects. For this purpose, we choose Nigeria and Ethiopia as important destinations of Chinese investment in Africa. Africa is not only rich in natural resources; it also possesses a young population that makes the bulk of the working force. Despite its rapid GDP growth and growing urbanization, the continent is still entangled in the midst of underdevelopment, poverty and an acute lack of infrastructure to stimulate and sustain this economic development. China’s investment in the continent is trying to tackle this infrastructure bottleneck by investing in the building of infrastructures such as roads, railways, ports and highways. The results show some overall positive popular sentiments towards Chinese infrastructure projects from both countries. To conclude, we argue for a need of more scrutiny from the parts of the leadership in Africa given the potential issues related to Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa.