Trampling the grass

IMF says Africa most at risk from US-China divorce

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Cash-strapped Africa…

By Julian Pecquet, in Washington

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Posted on April 18, 2023 08:04

China’s President Xi Jinping looks on
China’s President Xi Jinping looks on as he attends a session during the G20 Leaders’ Summit, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool

When elephants fight, an old African proverb tells us, the grass gets trampled. Now the IMF has put a dollar figure on this ancient wisdom.

According to a new report released during last week’s spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa stands to suffer the most from the threatened decoupling between the US and China as well as broader “geoeconomic fragmentation”. A full-on split between major economic powers could cost the region 4% in lost economic growth, the IMF says.

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