This week, China will call for increased shipments of goods, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels, at a summit of 50 African countries in Beijing in exchange for promises of loans and investment.
However, Chinese leaders are likely to want to hear how China plans to keep an unfulfilled promise from a previous summit in 2021 to buy $300 billion worth of goods. They will also seek assurances of progress on unfinished Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, such as a railway to link the greater East African region. Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project, stated:
The prize is going to go to those countries who have carefully studied the changes in China and align their proposals with China’s new slimmed-down priorities. That’s a big ask for a continent that generally has very poor China literacy.
Africa’s largest bilateral lender, investor, and trading partner is refusing to finance expensive projects, preferring instead to sell advanced and environmentally friendly technologies to the continent. Beijing’s top priority will be finding buyers for its EVs and solar panels, as well as establishing overseas manufacturing bases for emerging markets.
China has already begun adjusting the terms of its loans to Africa, allocating more money to solar farms, power plants, and 5G Wi-Fi facilities, while cutting back on bridges, ports, and railways.
Careful cooperation
When President Xi Jinping opens the ninth forum of the China-Africa Cooperation Summit on Thursday, he is expected to brief the leaders of The Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe on tapping into China’s growing green energy industry. The meeting will be attended by delegates from all African states except Eswatini, with which Beijing has no ties.
The UK, Italy, Russia, and South Korea also hosted African summits in recent years, recognising the potential of the region’s youth and its 54 seats at the UN. However, China’s huge role as a financial and trading partner makes its meetings much more important.
China is likely to want to talk about expanding trade and access to minerals, such as copper, cobalt, and lithium, in countries like Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. However, Beijing may be cautious about increasing funding commitments following debt restructuring proposals in countries including Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia after the 2021 summit.
China’s enthusiasm for lending, however, could be tempered by security concerns, such as the hostility between Niger and Benin that killed six Nigerian soldiers guarding a PetroChina-backed pipeline, or bloody protests in Kenya over tax hikes.
