President Xi Jinping recently pledged to step up China’s support across Africa with funding of around $51 billion over three years to support additional infrastructure projects and the creation of at least one million jobs.
During the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, Xi told delegates from over 50 African nations who gathered in Beijing that China was ready to cooperate with the continent in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment.
China to carry out 3x as many infrastructure projects
China, the world’s biggest bilateral lender, promised to carry out three times as many infrastructure projects across Africa despite the country’s recent shift to smaller investments in selling advanced and green technologies
“To ensure the successful implementation of the 10 partnership initiatives, China will provide Africa with RMB360 billion of financial support in the next three years, including RMB 210 billion in credit lines, RMB 80 billion in assistance of different types, no less than RMB70 billion of investment by Chinese companies, to give strong support for the practical cooperation of China and Africa in all fields,” said the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs in a statement.
The statement added that China will provide Africa with other smaller payments through military aid and other projects.
Xi also called for a China-Africa network of land and sea links and coordinated development, urging Chinese contractors to return to the continent after COVID-19 disruptions have subsided.
In addition to 30 infrastructure connectivity projects, Xi said China was ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa. Moreover, they offered to cooperate on nuclear technology and the power deficit.
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China’s leading to Africa in 2023
Last year, lenders in China approved loans worth $4.61 billion to eight countries and two regional financial institutions in Africa, marking the first time the annual loan amount to Africa has risen since 2016. However, the amount is far below the early years of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in which cumulative commitments surpassed $10 billion annually. China’s loans to Africa in 2023 represented the largest volume of lending to the continent since 2019 before the onset of the pandemic.
A recent study from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center estimates that from 2000 to 2023, Chinese lenders provided 1,306 loans amounting to $182.28 billion to 49 African governments and seven regional borrowers. The study also reveals that China’s top five loan recipients between 2000 and 2023 were Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya.
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