When looking at major events on the international stage, the 2024 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) stands out as a pivotal moment in the changing geostrategic dynamics of this economic bloc, with South Africa leading the way in international solidarity between China and Africa. The event raises major issues regarding the nature of the expansion of the BRICS+6 group, from which Russia has recently distanced itself due to its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
In contrast, FOCAC is emerging as an increasingly stable platform for economic development, with strong political commitment from African states and China. Despite tensions such as rising debt in Africa due to China’s large infrastructure loans, the enthusiasm of African leaders is evident in their massive presence in Beijing.
Initiatives to reorient economic relations are underway on both the African and Chinese sides. Economic cooperation is being considered that breaks with the controversial mega-projects that have characterized China’s economic expansion through the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa.
China is aware of the criticism of its investments in Africa. This criticism, emanating from the United States, the European Union, and the media, described as “blackmail” by the Chinese media, portrays the Chinese government and its banks as greedy lenders seizing state assets to repay unpaid loans. The most prominent example remains China’s takeover of the Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka.
Yet the Chinese government and major lenders such as the Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) are adopting a more engaged economic approach that takes into account the risks of costly transport projects in Africa and Asia. A shift in China’s priorities in financing African development reflects a willingness to adapt to the continent’s economic needs and priorities.
High-risk investments that have failed are being renegotiated, protecting Chinese banks as well as African and Asian lenders. Two notable examples are the Kenyan and Laos Standard Gauge Railways.
Over the past year, China and Africa have revised their shared narrative on modernization and development cooperation. This new approach emphasizes smaller projects, highlighting green energy and the Digital Silk Road, including technology transfer and artificial intelligence innovation.
Large infrastructure projects will nevertheless continue to be pursued. For example, earlier this year, China committed to renovating the Tazara railway line from Zambia to the port of Dar es Salaam, with enhanced risk analysis. This move is aimed at avoiding criticism from the United States and Europe, while ensuring the long-term stability of China-Africa economic relations.
China has also committed to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, which will link South Africa to the Belt and Road Initiative via Mozambique. This expansion is expected to extend to the ports of Richards Bay and Durban, as well as the Coega Deepwater Port Special Economic Zone near Port Elizabeth.
The MMSEZ has shifted its energy supply from a 3,300 megawatt coal-fired power station for a metallurgical complex to a so-called clean solar power plant, the Mutsho Power Station. While the source of most of the energy deficit remains unclear (it seems likely to be Eskom), the MMSEZ has managed to avoid some controversy through this transition. China has also promised to assist South Africa in its energy supply.
Reinforcing the mood of solidarity at FOCAC, the week before the summit the New Development Bank pledged R5 billion to modernise Transnet, which was lagging behind in terms of freight capacity.
Despite mounting debts and projects such as the Nairobi-Mombasa railway in Kenya failing to deliver the expected benefits, the relationship appears to be closer than ever geostrategically. This global demonstration of South-South solidarity is a major objective of China for this summit.
As evidenced by the arrival of African leaders in Beijing for the summit in an atmosphere of pomp and respect, the symbol of equality and respect has won the loyalty of the African Union and its leaders. This respectful approach, omnipresent during the FOCAC deliberations, stands in stark contrast to the conditional loans and structural adjustment programs of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s.
Both Africa and China have prioritized value-added beneficiation, and some successes have already been recorded. For example, in 2023, Zimbabwe integrated a beneficiation component into the Zimbabwe-China lithium joint venture. Zimbabwe now produces batteries instead of simply exporting the ore.
Beyond economic cooperation, the emphasis at this summit on the importance China attaches to balanced and mutually beneficial partnerships with Africa demonstrates a common desire to promote sustainable and inclusive development within the African continent.