When the Africa Cup of Nations begins on January 13, the opening match between Guinea Bissau and the hosts, Ivory Coast, will be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. The state-of-the-art venue is one of six stadiums being used during the football tournament.
At a ceremony to mark the beginning of its construction in 2016, the former prime minister of Ivory Coast, Daniel Kablan Duncan, was accompanied by several Chinese embassy officials based in the country.
Their presence was no surprise. After all, the stadium was designed by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and built by the Beijing Construction Engineering Group. Both of these are Chinese state entities.
