Huge crowds at the China-Africa Forum in Beijing: President Xi basks in his role as patron of the global south. But relations with African states have changed.
There are many summits in the so-called “Africa+1” format: Africa and the USA, Africa and France and just a few days ago Africa and Indonesia. The largest and most glamorous, however, is the triennial China-Africa Forum, or FOCAC for short, which ended on Friday. With pomp and splendour, colourful dance performances and a lavish state dinner to welcome them, President Xi Jinping received more than 25 heads of state and government from the continent in Beijing; in total, top politicians and delegations from 53 countries travelled to the event, as well as U.N.-Secretary-General António Guterres.
China wants to integrate supply chains and industry more closely with Africa, stressed Premier Li Qiang on Friday at an entrepreneurs’ conference at the end of the summit. Li promised to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa in order to help the continent’s industries achieve “self-sustaining and resilient” growth. “China and Africa complement each other highly in industry,” said Li.
It is true: Africa supplies, among other things, the raw materials sought after by China’s industry. Continued access to the continent’s natural resources such as gold, copper, lithium and rare earths is one of China’s most important goals. In return, a lot of money flows. In total, China has granted African countries loans totaling more than 182 billion US dollars between 2000 and 2023, for example for the construction of ports, railways, highways and hydroelectric power plants.
Xi praises relations with Africa with a swipe at the West
In his opening speech on Thursday, Xi praised relations between China and Africa as “better than ever before in history.” China is ready to work more closely with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment. China has pledged around 45 billion euros to its partners in Africa over the next three years. “Modernization is an inalienable right of all countries,” Xi stressed. “But the Western approach has caused immense suffering to developing countries.”
The swipe is part of China’s strategy to position itself as part of the global South, against the unpopular Western-dominated world order. “China is doing everything it can to emphasise its own status as a developing country and to signal solidarity with the global South,” writes China-Africa expert Cobus von Stadenfounder of the information website The China Global South ProjectEven though China is increasingly weaving its own development goals into its engagement in Africa: “It avoids the dreariness of the ongoing focus of the US and EU on help and the associated requirements and sermons.”
Action Plan: Small Projects and Military Aid
In the “Action Plan 2025-2027” adopted at the FOCAC, China pledges a total of 127 million euros each in military and food aid to Africa. The plan also includes duty-free goods from the 33 poorest African countries, 30 clean energy projects, 25 joint research centers and 20 demonstration projects for the digital economy. The plan shows a move away from large infrastructure projects and towards more “small and beautiful” projects, as Xi calls them.
The strong US dollar and high interest rates are currently making investments in developing countries more difficult, explains Africa expert Tang Xiaoyang from Beijing’s Tsinghua University in a podcast. “We need to
find ways to use the money more efficiently and improve the return on this limited investment,” says Tang. New joint approaches could be found in renewable energies and digital technologies, for example. One example: the Zambian energy supplier ZESCO and the Beijing company PowerChina agreed on a program to build rooftop photovoltaics in Zambia at the FOCAC.
Loans, fair trade and jobs
Nevertheless, large loans are still on the wish list of some partners. In bilateral meetings with Xi, for example, the heads of state and government of Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo asked for fresh loans. Kenya’s President William Ruto received a promise of support for the extension of a railway line from the port city of Mombasa to the border with Uganda and for the construction of a motorway. And this despite the fact that Kenya already owes China more than eight billion US dollars and Ruto had asked Beijing to restructure existing debts in 2023. Kenya is therefore an example of how China’s money creates important infrastructure but can cause long-term financial difficulties for some target countries.
With his Nigerian counterpart Bola Tinubu, Xi Jinping agreed on a strategic partnership in trade, security and technology, under which he wants to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Nigeria instead of granting more and more loans. Nigeria, in turn, promised to give preference to Chinese companies in the construction of factories and the development of energy and raw material resources.
Africa’s leaders want jobs and balanced trade
China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 years. But Africans are now identifying a serious flaw: an enormous deficit to the detriment of Africa. China also buys mainly raw materials from the continent. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made this clear at his meeting with Xi clearly to the language: “We want to reduce the trade deficit and improve the structure of our trade.”
In general, African states are now articulating their needs more clearly – not only to China, but also to the West. They know that their geopolitical importance is growing. Western countries or the oil-rich Gulf states are trying to catch up with China’s influence in Africa, said Paul Frimpong, director of the Ghana-based Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory, who BBC“There is keen interest and competition for Africa’s potential.” This is one of the reasons why China has become more attentive to the needs of African countries. In Beijing, Xi repeatedly stressed his desire to create new jobs locally.
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