Updated 6:12 AM ET, Mon January 6, 2014

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A construction worker walks through the dilapidated rails in Nairobi. Work has just begun on a new standard-gauge line between Nairobi and Mombasa. It's being funded by China, just one of numerous Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa

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China's investment in Africa – A construction worker walks through the dilapidated rails in Nairobi. Work has just begun on a new standard-gauge line between Nairobi and Mombasa. It's being funded by China, just one of numerous Chinese infrastructure projects in Africa

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Lamu Port – A Chinese company has won the tender to build the first berths at Kenya's ambitious port project in Lamu.

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Workers on the assembly line at the Huajian shoe factory in Dukem, Ethiopia. Chinese company Huajian is one of the factories operating in the Chinese-built Eastern Industry Zone -- Ethiopia's first industrial park.

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Ethiopian industry – Workers on the assembly line at the Huajian shoe factory in Dukem, Ethiopia. Chinese company Huajian is one of the factories operating in the Chinese-built Eastern Industry Zone -- Ethiopia's first industrial park.

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Men work at a construction site for a new Chinese-built railway in Ethiopia in 2013. The railway will connect<a href="http://www.erc.gov.et/index.php/projects.html?start=2" target="_blank"> Addis Ababa to Djibouti's Red Sea Port</a> at a cost of up to $2.8 billion. The new train line will be used for freight and passenger transport.

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Ethiopian railway – Men work at a construction site for a new Chinese-built railway in Ethiopia in 2013. The railway will connect Addis Ababa to Djibouti's Red Sea Port at a cost of up to $2.8 billion. The new train line will be used for freight and passenger transport.

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Brazzaville port – Workers for the Chinese company Sinohydro work on the renovation of the port area in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

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View of the construction site of an ultra modern bridge being built by a Chinese company in Dar es Salaam on March 23, 2013. The bridge will have a total length of 680 meters.

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Dar es Salaam bridge – View of the construction site of an ultra modern bridge being built by a Chinese company in Dar es Salaam on March 23, 2013. The bridge will have a total length of 680 meters.

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Chinese president Xi Jinping hands over the symbolic golden key to Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete. The China National Petroleum Company is currently installing a 330-mile natural gas pipeline in Tanzania.

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Tanzania pipeline – Chinese president Xi Jinping hands over the symbolic golden key to Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete. The China National Petroleum Company is currently installing a 330-mile natural gas pipeline in Tanzania.

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Construction of the hydroelectric dam in Poubara, Gabon, was completed in July 2013. The contract was worth around $400 million and 75% of the funding came from China.

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Gabon dam – Construction of the hydroelectric dam in Poubara, Gabon, was completed in July 2013. The contract was worth around $400 million and 75% of the funding came from China.

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