No intra-African trade without roads: what Africa expects from China?

A Chinese proverb says: "To get rich, build roads first." Unfortunately, this is not the path chosen by Africa, which decided first to put in place a continental framework as foundation of its future economic development, despite many experts have raised the importance of having in place an adequate quality infrastructure in order to achieve the AfCFTA’s main objective of boosting intra-African trade (noting that the AfCFTA Agreement does not even mention infrastructural development explicitly as one of its objectives). The role of transport infrastructure in connecting the different regions in the continent has been also pointed out recently in this article that argues that roads are the lifelines that can help unite Africa’s various economies. However, efforts are currently ongoing at both national, regional and continental level for filling the Africa infrastructure gap, with the support of many international donors. Among them, the role played by China is critical, since the Asian giant has invested so far heavily in the construction of transport infrastructure in Africa, helping the continent to enhance its connectivity. However, China engagement in Africa has also attracted strong criticism due to the growth of Chinese lending in Africa, which between 2000, when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established, and 2020, grew of five times. Chinese lenders now account for 12 percent of Africa’s public and private debt, making China a central actor in the African debt sustainability and responsible borrowing. The FOCAC is a platform established in 2000 that has become the cornerstone of Sino-African relations. Since its inception, FOCAC has held regular ministerial meetings and summits, alternating between China and African countries, to set the agenda for collaboration. The last edition of FOCAC Summit was held in the end of November 2021 in Dakar, Senegal. The Summit meets once every 3 years alternating between China and Africa. The 2024 edition -  the ninth one -  will be held in Beijing from 4 to 6 September.

According to a white paper published in November 2021 with the title "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals", Chinese companies over the last quarter century have helped African countries build or upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways, about 100,000 km of highways, almost 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, and 66,000 km of power transmission and distribution lines. On top of that, Chinese companies have helped Africa to scale-up its power-generating capacity for 120 million kW, as well as to extend its communications backbone network of 150,000 km and its network service to cover nearly 700 million user terminals.

In Kenya, China funded the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), while in Nigeria, the Abuja light rail, built by a Chinese company, started operating in May 2024. But the role of China has been critical not only in the development of the African transport infrastructure. The Asian country also assisted several African States in developing clean energy projects such as the De Aar Wind Farm in South Africa, which supplies 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the electricity needs of 300,000 households. The farm has contributed to address the electricity shortage in South Africa, a problem that, however, is still far from being resolved. China also financed a 55 megawatt solar power plant Garissa Solar in Garissa County, Kenya, which now generates over 76 million kilowatt hours annually, with a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by about 64,000 tons per year.

Various industrial zones and industrial parks were built and are operated by Chinese enterprises, such as the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park in Uganda, the Diamniadio International Industrial Platform in Senegal, the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Nigeria, and the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Egypt, just to mention a few ones. These parks have helped African countries to participate more effectively in the global production chain and have promoted the internationalization of local brands. Moreover, they are helping Africa to implement import substitution strategies by hosting businesses producing home-manufactured or home-grown goods that are sold on the local market and that Africa before used to import from third countries.

Modern port cooperation between China and Africa is also developing rapidly. An example is the Kribi Deep Sea Port, in Cameroon, which has stimulated the country's economy and is becoming a regional hub for the African Atlantic coast. In 2023, Tanzania's first modern fishing harbor, Kilwa Harbor, also constructed by a Chinese company, was launched. As a flagship project under the Tanzanian government's third five-year plan, it is expected to become an engine for economic growth.

Also in 2021, China and Africa jointly formulated the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035 to determine the directions and objectives of their mid- and long-term cooperation. One of the main points of the document  (2.3 Advancing integrated cooperation), highlights the indissolubility of the link between AfCFTA implementation and infrastructure development, reiterating the support of China in improving the Africa’s connectivity. So far, the Sino-African cooperation has been a continuous work in progress, guided not by rigid patterns or pre-conceived plans, but by periodical readjustments based on the changing needs of the two parties. And one of the main places where these readjustments have taken place has been the FOCAC.

As the date of the next Summit is close, everyone wonders how the Sino-African relations will evolve following this event, and especially if China will propose a change in its approach to Africa, diversifying its interests away from infrastructure development, which however remains critical for the objective of increasing intra-African trade.

All eyes are on the September FOCAC Summit in Bejing.