For decades, China has provided aid to Africa, which has greatly aided the continent's growth. The aid's main goal is to help African countries become more selfsufficient, but it has drawn a lot of international interest and sparked discussion. While some African leaders, politicians, and academics see these numerous aids as lucrative opportunities for both sides, critics of the relationship question China's willingness to help recipients improve their self-reliance capabilities. Concerns about the use of Chinese labor, input, and tied aid during the execution of such projects have contributed to skepticism about the aim of fostering mutual benefit and self-reliance in these recipient countries. Regardless of the ongoing debate among this partnership's allies and rivals, there is very little current literature that examines the efficacy of China's aid in terms of capacity building with a focus on employment creation and infrastructure development. There is a scarcity of literature dedicated to capacity-building indicators such as employment creation and infrastructure development. Despite the paucity of literature, this study aims to contribute to the limited existing literature on the impact of Chinese aid on capacity building in Africa by focusing on the Gambia. To do so, the study looks into China's aid impact on Gambia's capacity building in terms of employment creation and infrastructure development. The study was analyzed using primary data from semistructured email interviews with open-ended questions and secondary data from previous research papers, the China White Paper, and news outlets. Similar to previous research results from the cases of Angola, Sudan, and Uganda, which all experienced some capacity building, The Gambia has experienced the same. The results obtained in the case of The Gambia indicate that the China aid project has had a significant effect on capacity building in The Gambia.

Keywords : Africa; Aid; China; the Gambia; Impact