“Chineza, chineza!”
I have been called by my nationality a hundred times while walking on the street almost every time. I wonder why I have been gaining so much attention for being a Chinese.
You can see the influence of China everywhere here. Opposite to our hotel, there is a Chinese construction project going on and It is the biggest foreign investment in Cabo Verde. There are Chinese language schools and Chinese competition in colleges. Chinese work as store owners, doctors, construction works and many other fields.
I was not aware of the extent to which China is investing in African countries before the DukeEngage. In order to understand more about local people’s feeling, I ask some Cabo Verdeans how they feel towards it. People seem to welcome it as such investment boosts up local economy but worry about how the investments will affect the countries. For example, China is building a huge casino in Cabo Verde. This will definitely help attract lots of tourists in the future, but is this really good for Cabo Verde’s future? Will Cabo Verde be ready for the influx of tourists in the future? How will Cabo Verde develop with the coming opportunities and challenges?
Time will tell us.