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by Hank Cohen

China’s growing presence in Africa has been the subject of significant criticism. The popular understanding in the US of China’s role on the continent has been that the People’s Republic, via the Belt and Road Initiative, has offered African countries a raw deal: shoddy infrastructure projects in exchange for loans they know their partners cannot repay. The approach is commonly described as debt-trap diplomacy, garnering unfavorable comparisons to organized crime behavior. But the reality of China’s presence in Africa is more nuanced.

Benefits for African Nations

While initial missteps plagued the projects, China has largely reformed its approach. The country has shifted from doing infrastructure projects based on loans to working on a grant basis. As a result, China is now providing much-needed infrastructure for African countries, without the harm of tying them up in debt.

Changes in financing have largely improved their approach to infrastructure building. This is critical for African nations, who are now poised to benefit from a demographic boom that will see one in four people on the planet live on the continent by 2050. By building infrastructure like factories and highways, they are positioning African nations to be a powerful manufacturing workforce for the future world economy. This has the potential to create great economic benefits for Africans.

However, despite the positive infrastructure implications of the reform of Belt and Road, policymakers in both the US and Africa would be wise to keep their eyes open to the reality of this situation. While Belt and Road may largely be good news for Africans, aspects of China’s presence on the continent pose significant issues.

A Threat to African Manufacturing Industries

China’s capacity for exporting cheap goods is a disruptive force all around the globe, and Africa is no exception. In Africa, along with Chinese trade have come Chinese workers. In many cases, these workers remain in Africa after their projects are completed and establish retail shops specializing in importing low-cost Chinese goods that undermine existing local manufacturing. The city of Kano in northern Nigeria, once a thriving industrial hub, is a good example of decline due to cheap Chinese imports.

We are at an inflection point for Africa’s economic future. Across the continent, local manufacturing industries are now working to get off the ground. According to the African Development Bank, the continent originates only 1.9% of global manufacturing. This may soon change, as demographic change attracts private-sector investors looking for vibrant young workforces. African leaders should prioritize protecting these burgeoning sectors and jobs.

Gaining Support in the U.N. General Assembly

China’s cultivation of strong ties with African nations is also something the US should take seriously. In exchange for their economic support and trade relations, China has gained African allies in the U.N. General Assembly. When resolutions related to China come up for vote, China has in turn pressured their African partners to vote in support of their interests. An excellent example is the lack of action by the U.N. on Chinese repression of the minority Uyghur Muslim population. Voting at the United Nations General Assembly on the Uyghur issue has seen African delegations either vote no or abstain.

US Energy Interests

Finally, China’s growing presence on the African continent has meaningful effects on the US energy mineral supply chain, a critical topic as the world attempts to move towards renewable energy. With cobalt and lithium key to the battery storage of renewable energy, the US must take steps now to protect its interests in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has the second-largest deposit of cobalt in the world after Russia.

In 2010, an American company, Freeport McMorran, opened a mine in central DRC called Tenke Fungurume, which is very rich in copper and cobalt. In 2019, the company’s mining operation in Papua New Guinea went bankrupt. It had to sell Tenke to stay afloat. Who bought this rich mine? CMOC, a Chinese company. The United States government was strongly neglectful by not working to keep Tenke Fungurume in American private sector hands. In the future, the USG should monitor and prepare to counter Chinese activity with similar potential to disrupt critical supply chains.

The Lessons: For the US and Africans

An important lesson for the African governments in their dealings with China has been that the relationship needs to be managed. African nations cannot just silently enjoy China’s “generosity.” Leaders on the continent need to exercise controls to promote the good and discourage the bad aspects of China’s way of doing business, like undercutting domestic manufacturing by flooding their countries with cheap Chinese goods. Likewise, the US should be mindful of how these relationships can have long-term consequences on industries already hampered by stretched supply chains.

Should the United States be competing with China in Africa? American development programs, which emphasize the building of African capabilities, and US support for United Nations’ programs, are substantially more valuable than what the Chinese are doing. But the fact that remains that China’s growing influence, especially in regard to energy mineral supply chains and voting blocs within the UN General Assembly, is accompanied by potential issues.

The reality of China’s Africa policy contains more shades of grey than popularly understood. The positives for Africans are real, but so are the potential pitfalls. It’s urgent, then, that US and African leaders closely watch China’s moves, and work to shape their growing influence to create a more positive future.End.


Herman J. “Hank” Cohen was in the United States Foreign Service for 38 years where he specialized in US-Africa relations. His assignments included ambassador to Senegal and the Gambia, senior director for Africa on the National Security Council under President Reagan, and assistant secretary for African Affairs under President George H.W. Bush. His most recent book is “U.S Policy Toward Africa: Eight Decades of Realpolitik”, Lynne Rienner, 2020.

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