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By The Numbers

Chinese President Xi Jinping promises investment in Africa

Marketplace Staff Dec 4, 2015
211,000 jobs

That’s how many jobs were added in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest numbers out Friday. It’s a strong report, and has economists speculating that it all but assures an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. As the New York Times writes, it would be the first time interest rates have been raised in almost a decade.

4

Out of every 10 nuclear power plants currently under construction, that’s how many are currently being built in China. The country is experiencing a bit of a nuclear power renaissance. But that’s not the only energy industry booming: China also wants to become a world leader in renewable energy. And the country may have the top-down government structure to pull it off quickly.

$60 billion

That’s how much Chinese President Xi Jinping says his country will invest in projects in Africa. Speaking to African leaders on Friday, he also promised to forgive debt, and stay uninvolved with politics between countries. But as Reuters reports, China has been criticized in the past for using Chinese firms for state-funded projects in Africa, thereby preventing local business growth.

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