(Beijing) Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting around 20 African leaders in Beijing on Wednesday for the most important diplomatic summit in the country in years, amid promises of cooperation in infrastructure, energy and education.
A total of 25 leaders from African countries have arrived in the Chinese capital or confirmed their attendance at the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, according to an AFP tally.
The forum kicks off Wednesday evening with a family photo and a grand welcome dinner, followed the next day by an opening ceremony where Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech.
The summit, which Beijing says will be the largest diplomatic event held in the Chinese capital since the COVID-19 pandemic, is due to end on Friday.
The world’s second largest economy, China is the African continent’s leading trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $167.8 billion in the first half of 2024, according to Chinese official media.
It has sent hundreds of thousands of workers and engineers to Africa over the past two decades to build these major projects, and gained privileged access to Africa’s vast natural resources, including copper, gold and lithium.
Loans from Chinese public banks have made it possible to finance numerous infrastructures intended to boost African growth (railways, ports, roads, etc.) but have also raised questions because they have also increased the indebtedness of certain countries.
“True friend”
Xi Jinping is “a true friend of Africa,” the official Chinese press assured this week, insisting on the links between Beijing and the continent which have reached “new heights” since he came to power.
The Chinese president has already had one-on-one talks in recent days with around ten African leaders who have arrived in Beijing, according to a count by Chinese media.
In his meeting Tuesday with Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria – one of the African countries that has borrowed the most from China – Xi Jinping called for greater cooperation in “developing infrastructure, energy and natural resources”, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
PHOTO LI TAO, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY, PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Xi Jinping and Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria
And when he received his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa the same day, he promised collaboration in terms of “investment, trade, infrastructure, natural resources” and other areas.
PHOTO BY HUANG JINGWEN, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY, PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Xi Jinping and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa
He also gave his support to the “illegal sanctions” imposed by the United States, which accuses the Zimbabwean government of corruption and human rights violations.
But the amount of loans China provided to African countries last year – $4.61 billion – is down sharply from peaks of nearly $30 billion in 2016.
According to analysts, the current economic slowdown in China is pushing Beijing to reduce its investments in Africa.
“Geopolitical interest”
This week’s summit also comes amid growing competition between the United States and China in Africa for political influence and access to natural resources.
“Deepening economic engagement with Africa across the board” remains one of China’s goals at the forum, Zainab Usman, director of the Africa program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told AFP.
In specific areas, even if increased engagement does not make economic sense, it will be motivated by geopolitical reasons.
Zainab Usman, director of the Africa program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
One goal could also be to reduce the growing trade imbalance between China and Africa, particularly by increasing imports in agriculture and processed minerals, Mr.me Usman.
“Meeting these African demands is in China’s geopolitical interest, in order to keep [les pays africains] at his side in the standoff with the United States,” she assures.