What happens when China builds your country’s internet?

Throughout Africa, countries are being connected to the digital economy for the first time, making the internet accessible where it once was not. In Zambia, communication, banking, and public services are all going digital.

As in many African nations, this is all happening with the help of China. But China isn’t just spotting good investment opportunities; nor is it trying to win favors from smaller countries. It’s changing how we think about the internet.

Quartz went to Zambia and found that the fact that China is building a country’s digital infrastructure doesn’t necessarily mean that the country wants the restricted, censored Chinese model of the internet. But no matter what, it makes governments stronger, whether they are democratic, authoritarian, or something in between.

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