Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
The upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa is an occasion to assess China's activity on the Black Continent.
Annual surveys of the African population (no matter who conducts them) show that more than 60 percent have a positive attitude toward China and believe that the country makes a great contribution to the development of the continent and individual states. This result is a natural outcome of Beijing's work in Africa.
Over the past 20 years, China has become the main trading partner of many countries on the African continent, with China's total trade with Africa reaching $282 billion in 2022. The growth rate exceeds 30 percent annually. China has become the main source of industrial goods, technology and infrastructure investment for entire groups of countries. In many countries, China has pushed out the former metropolises of France and other European countries, not to mention the United States, which has neglected the continent in recent years.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which brings together 54 countries of the continent and the African Union Commission, has been set up and operates to coordinate work with African countries and discuss large-scale issues. The forum has developed plans for economic cooperation until 2035 and 2063. Since 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area has been operational, with 54 countries, including China, having signed the agreement on its establishment.
At first, China considered African countries as a source of raw materials and invested in the development and export of minerals. In the "zero" years, China actively invested in Nigeria, Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Congo, Cameroon and Mozambique. During the years of cooperation with China, Angola alone received over 40 billion dollars in loans, most of them for the development of oil fields. At the same time, the Chinese authorities lent to African countries for the development of infrastructure and resource projects. During these years, Ghana received $5.5 billion, Nigeria – $5.4 billion, Equatorial Guinea – $2.6 billion, Ethiopia – $2.2 billion, South Africa – $2.2 billion. Now the Chinese are investing in countries along the continent's coast south of the Sahara. China is helping to develop high-value-added production, and Chinese high-tech corporations are involved in the projects.
China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Beijing, 2018. Source: ispionline.it
Already in 2017, China surpassed the United States in terms of lending to African countries, providing over $100 billion. And subsequently, lending has only increased. In the field of direct and portfolio investments, China's main partners are Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, DRC, Zambia, Angola, Morocco, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and some other countries.
Chinese investment and assistance in infrastructure construction are of particular importance to Africa. In total, with Chinese assistance, African countries have built more than six thousand kilometers of railroads and the same number of highways, about 20 ports and more than 80 large power plants, more than 130 medical facilities, 45 sports stadiums and 170 schools. All these projects have played an important role in the industrialization and economic transformation of African countries.
Trade and investment are accompanied by various other forms of assistance, including non-commercial ones. These include grants, interest-free and low-interest loans, free construction, duty-free imports of a number of African goods, the sending of specialists to African countries, the education of African students and local training of specialists, the creation of medical centers, the donation of medicines, the sending of volunteers, the activities of cultural centers, and humanitarian assistance in response to natural and man-made disasters.
The coronavirus pandemic was a milestone in the development of China's cooperation with African countries and the strengthening of China's position. During this period, China supplied Africa with more than a billion doses of vaccines and medical equipment, mostly free of charge. The combination of commercial projects and humanitarian projects ensures a positive attitude toward the Chinese presence in African countries, which public opinion polls show.
China's cooperation with African countries is of a coordinated nature. It is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Finance. Various state funds and institutions, including the Manufacturing Capacity Development Fund, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, the Silk Road Fund, the Confucius Institute, and the Human Resources Development Fund, also work in this area. The China-Africa Development Investment Fund plays a special role. It makes direct investments in the creation of industrial enterprises, including automobile, machine-tool, cement, household appliances and so on. Numerous administrative buildings for heads of State, parliaments and governments have been built in African countries on a free-of-charge basis with the assistance of this fund.
China does not publicize this fact, citing modest official figures of its gratuitous aid to Africa, but this aid has long exceeded American one.
In recent years, China has been actively offering Africa so-called green development projects, building wind and solar power plants, garbage recycling plants, etc.
Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Source: Nicolas Asfouri / Pool Photo via AP
Chinese expansion in Africa has drawn Western criticism and attempts to present it as a new takeover of the continent. These accusations have already been harshly answered many times by some African leaders, who harshly compare the methods of European and American colonizers with the development assistance provided by China.
"Our friendship with China is mutual and no propaganda will ever take away the opportunities that are open to us. China did not colonize Zambia, unlike others, it has never been caught in doing so," Zambian President Edgar Lungu once said, expressing the views of his colleagues.
In fact, Chinese projects in Africa are rather reminiscent of what the USSR did in helping African countries to choose the direction of development. But the Chinese are much more practical and pragmatic. In addition to concrete economic benefits, China receives political support from African countries in the international arena, including in the UN. Those who rely on Beijing's help are unlikely to risk supporting any anti-Chinese resolution.