Those countries without oil, such as Egypt, Jordan,and Syria, need to rely on other resources to attract Chinese investors. This may lead to less competition for Chinese investors and allow them to collaborate in other areas such as technology, for example. Added to this, many countries within the MENA region do have domestic resources and can leverage China’s funding to create compounding effects. Unlike some other central parts of the BRI regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa, the MENA region has relatively stable digital and physical infrastructure. With those successes, Chinese investors are now spreading across the GCC, and more tentatively, North Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 05, 2019 06:45 UTC