For decades, China has provided aid to Africa,
which has greatly aided the continent's growth. The aid's
main goal is to help African countries become more selfsufficient, but it has drawn a lot of international interest
and sparked discussion. While some African leaders,
politicians, and academics see these numerous aids as
lucrative opportunities for both sides, critics of the
relationship question China's willingness to help
recipients improve their self-reliance capabilities.
Concerns about the use of Chinese labor, input, and tied
aid during the execution of such projects have contributed
to skepticism about the aim of fostering mutual benefit
and self-reliance in these recipient countries.
Regardless of the ongoing debate among this
partnership's allies and rivals, there is very little current
literature that examines the efficacy of China's aid in
terms of capacity building with a focus on employment
creation and infrastructure development. There is a
scarcity of literature dedicated to capacity-building
indicators such as employment creation and
infrastructure development.
Despite the paucity of literature, this study aims to
contribute to the limited existing literature on the impact
of Chinese aid on capacity building in Africa by focusing
on the Gambia. To do so, the study looks into China's aid
impact on Gambia's capacity building in terms of
employment creation and infrastructure development.
The study was analyzed using primary data from semistructured email interviews with open-ended questions
and secondary data from previous research papers, the
China White Paper, and news outlets.
Similar to previous research results from the cases of
Angola, Sudan, and Uganda, which all experienced some
capacity building, The Gambia has experienced the same.
The results obtained in the case of The Gambia indicate
that the China aid project has had a significant effect on
capacity building in The Gambia.
Keywords : Africa; Aid; China; the Gambia; Impact