Go look a bit closer. China's wave of investment in Africa has coincided directly with a massive increase in development and industrialization in Africa, something that wasn't achieved over the many decades of Western support.

"Predatory loans" are disingenuous: the value of infrastructure often isn't in the direct operation of it, but in the knock-on effects that has on the economy at large. If someone told me they wanted to build a subway system for free so long as they get all the fare revenue, I'd tell them to go right along. If someone told me they wanted to build a hydroelectric dam so long as they get all the revenue from selling that electricity to the grid, I'd tell them to get the project started already. Moreover, the entire point of this infrastructure is to move African countries off of their entirely resource-based economies.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/china-debt-trap-diplomacy/617953/

Event The Atlantic, imperialist rag that it is, agrees that the Chinese debt trap is a lie. Just compare IMF loans with Chinese loans. There's no question that China's terms are better, lead to better outcomes, and that China has forgiven billions in debt when some of their bets didn't produce the expected results.