Politics Dominance in the Global South: China fine-tunes its Africa strategy

While the Western world is looking at the wars in Gaza and Ukraine or the election campaign in the USA, China is rolling out the red carpet for African countries.

Around 50 heads of state and government from the continent have traveled to the People's Republic, where head of state and party leader Xi Jinping is expected to offer further cooperation and new loans.

The world's second largest economy has been pursuing its own interests for many years - both economically and geopolitically. African countries benefit. However, the meeting in Beijing is not just a jubilant event - African countries have long been feeling the effects of major infrastructure projects financed on credit.

China's tactics

Beijing sees itself as Africa's most important trading partner for 15 years - and has secured access to Africa's raw materials and markets. In return, African countries benefit from the expansion of infrastructure, loans with low conditions and investments in sectors such as energy, which contribute to economic growth and modernization, as Claus Soong from the Berlin-based China think tank Merics says.

South African political scientist Theo Neethling also believes that the 40 billion US dollars (almost 36.2 billion euros) for infrastructure projects, agriculture and the manufacturing industry that China committed to at the 2021 summit in Senegal would have brought tangible benefits to African countries. Kenya, for example, has become the largest exporter of flowers to China, with annual exports worth 800 million US dollars. And China's promotion of online trade has helped Ethiopia to export coffee there.

The dark side of cooperation

But behind the façade, the disadvantages of the ties with the People's Republic are making themselves felt for many countries. According to political scientist Neethling, China lent more than 170 billion dollars to 49 African countries and regional institutions between 2000 and 2022 alone. "Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia are particularly deep in the debt trap - and are now aware that Beijing will not write them off so easily."

African countries can only benefit to a limited extent from those infrastructure projects that are realized with workers and materials from China. And cheap products from China have a negative impact on the African manufacturing industry.

The demand for electronics, vehicle parts, clothing, tires, cosmetics, furniture and machinery is high due to their low prices, says South African China-Africa expert Sizo Nkala. However, Chinese products are undermining the interests of African countries in establishing their own manufacturing industries and value chains for raw materials and products. Therefore, the hope is now different - namely that China will support the industrialization of the continent.

China is adapting its strategy

Because some countries are having difficulties servicing the loans, China has adapted its strategy. Beijing is now increasingly focusing on "small and beautiful projects" with lower financial risks. Solar parks are one example.

As China produces more solar cells than it needs, the goods produced over capacity are sold cheaply abroad. The USA and the EU are already putting a stop to such products from China. Africa could therefore be a target. It is therefore no surprise that green energy is a topic at the summit.

The so-called Forum for China-Africa Cooperation has been meeting every three years since 2000; summits like this year's are rarer. The current summit is the largest to date - and Xi Jinping, who will give his speech in the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, is not only concerned with economic policy.

Goal: counterweight to the West

In view of the emerging "hegemonism" - by which Beijing usually means the global power position of the USA - and the Cold War mentality, China and Africa would work together more closely in "great solidarity", said China's special representative for African affairs, Liu Yuxi, before the summit.

In other words, China wants to secure its influence in the Global South, i.e. in developing or emerging countries - and thus also its influence on global diplomacy and security policy. "Africa is a key to this," says Asia-Africa analyst Cobus Van Straaten. With its 54 out of 193 UN member states, Africa has considerable geopolitical voting power, which is already in China's favor to some extent, says Jana de Kluiver, analyst at the African Institute for Security Studies.

"The summit is taking place amid increasing geopolitical tensions, which have led to major powers increasingly competing for influence in Africa," says de Kluiver. China will use it to expand relations, especially with countries where cooperation with Western states has dominated to date.