If you visit the capital, you can't miss the Chinese influence. Last time I was there, a huge Chinese bank building was going up kiddy corner to the Airport in Addis.
BTW, if you haven't visited Ethiopia, put it on your list. It's an amazingly beautiful country.
[1] https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&...
The Chiense influence is staggering. I'm writing a book about it now. Many, many parts of Africa are developing faster than any of us can comprehend, because we've never seen it.
In the last ~20 years cities like LA and Vancouver have gotten bigger, but they're more or less what they were - there were skyscrapers, electricity, water, freeways etc. Now it's just a bit bigger.
There are hundreds of cities in Africa that have gone from dirt streets to modern city with skyscrapers, 4G internet, subways (or above ground rail), running water end electricity, etc. in just 10 years.
It boggles the mind
[1] http://theroadchoseme.com/africa-expedition-overview & http://instagram.com/theroadchoseme
In the case of Mozambique they gave away fishing rights to China.
No, there aren't. There is exactly one (1) city in sub-Saharan Africa with a modern urban rail system, and it's Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the rest of the continent's megacities (Nairobi, Lagos, etc) decent urban transit remains a dream. China has funded a bunch of long-distance rail, but that's primarily for trade (read: exporting raw materials).
But I still tip my pith helmet at you for crossing the DRC by Jeep!
Worth noting is that China's been trading with Africa since at least 200 BCE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa%E2%80%93China_relations
Some of my favorite spots in Addis:
1. National Museum of Ethiopia - Lucy and other early humans 2. Mount Entoto 3. Ethnological Museum - Haili Selassie's palace is here 4. Shiro Meda - street vendors. Take a Ethiopian friend to get the best deals. 5. Yod Abyssinian Traditional Restaurant - Traditional music and dancing. Worth going at least once. 6. Addis Ababa Golf Club - Fun place to catch lunch outdoors with some green space in Addis.
Outside:
1. Simien Mountains National Park 2. Church of Saint George 3. Blue Nile Falls 4. Danekil Depression
Ethiopia has a population of 105 million, yet it has the gross scientific output of Latvia, a country of only 1.92 million:
https://www.natureindex.com/country-outputs/generate/All/glo...
What is growing is CO2 emissions, at 14.9 million tonnes. By contrast, Latvia emits only 8 million tonnes.
On a per-CO2 basis, Latvia is twice as efficient as Ethiopia in producing science. On a per-capita basis, Latvia is 55x as efficient.
The situation is the same across the world when you compare countries populated by Europeans or East-Asians against everyone else.