China-Africa chill just hype

By: Christopher Edyegu, China expert at Africa Risk Consulting

The recently concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China, demonstrated that the Asian country’s relations with Africa are stronger and more robust than many had framed them to be. China’s President Xi Jinping reiterated this message in his FOCAC keynote speech, stating that relations between Africa and China are “at [their] best in history”, before proposing an elevation of relations with the continent to a strategic level and “all-weather China-Africa community”.

While emphasising the “immense suffering” inflicted on developing countries by the Western approach, Xi stressed that China and Africa can collaborate to modernise and build a shared future. With a record 53 African countries represented at FOCAC, Xi’s charm offensive strategy is proving effective. He also made a noticeable effort to meet with an impressive 24 African leaders in bilateral meetings, granting many leaders an audience they are not typically accustomed to receiving from world leaders.

Further demonstrating China’s commitment to the continent, Xi announced that China will provide African countries with roughly $50.7-billion in financial support over the next three years. He highlighted this as part of China’s ten-point Action Plan that will guide its relationship with Africa between 2025 and 2027. The $50-billion can be broken down to roughly $30-billion in credit lines, $11-billion in assistance or aid, and $10-billion to be provided through private Chinese firms. The financial pledge, which is a 25% increase from the last FOCAC, held in 2021, when Beijing’s financial commitments declined for the first time in over a decade, could significantly bolster China’s political and financial clout across Africa.

China’s Action Plan carries a commitment to further open up its market to African exports, a key request of African countries, which have sought to rebalance their economic ties with China. China’s trade surplus with the continent increased to a record $64-billion in 2023, with exports reaching a record $173-billion.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised this point during a bilateral meeting with Xi, where he expressed his country’s desire to narrow its trade deficit with China. Ramaphosa also pushed for more “sustainable manufacturing and job-creating investments”, stressing the desire of African leaders for greater beneficiation within the continent.

In a move welcomed by African leaders, Xi announced that China will lift all tariffs for 33 low-income African countries, a notable increase from the previous six, and pledged to create one-million jobs in Africa. While China will have to work hard to reduce its widening trade surplus with Africa, African leaders appreciated a China more open to African exports.

Security was high on the agenda, too. China will train African military and government personnel. Additionally, it will invite 6 000 military officers and 1 000 law enforcement officers for training, will establish a peacekeeping academy, and give $140-million in military assistance to African countries.

However, civil society groups fear that greater security collaboration with China could have far-reaching implications for African security governance, notably if Chinese policing norms become embedded within Africa’s police forces. They similarly fear Chinese political norms too, as Xi proposes increased party-to-party engagements between African politicians and the Communist Party of China. He said China would invite 1 000 African politicians to “deepen exchanges of experience in party and State governance”.

Moreover, China has vowed to provide financial support to African countries in several sectors, reflecting the multifaceted nature of its commitments. This includes offering 60 000 academic scholarships to African youths and women, building 25 centres for China-Africa studies, supporting African countries in their transition to renewable-energy sources by committing to building 30 joint centres in Africa for clean energy research, funding 500 agricultural development programmes on the continent and sending over 2 000 medical personnel to African countries, among other pledges.

While there is no system to track whether China has delivered on its FOCAC pledges, the commitments signal to the world that Africa remains important to China. These optics are significant, especially in the context of geopolitical competition with the West, as some African leaders feel that the continent has fallen off the agenda in the US and Europe. Notably, neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump visited Africa as President, whereas Xi has visited several African countries since he came to power.

Ultimately, China indicated at FOCAC that it is still deeply committed to Africa. Although Beijing has, in recent years, cut back on financing mega infrastructure projects in Africa, the multifaceted nature of its FOCAC pledges demonstrates that it is not withdrawing from the continent, although it is taking a more pragmatic and risk-averse approach. However, the main takeaway from FOCAC is that China has dispelled any doubts about whether Africa still matters to it.