The China in Africa blog posted on 17 November 2025 an item titled "Has the US Overtaken China in African Investment?" by Deborah Brautigam.
American foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa modestly exceeded Chinese FDI in Africa in 2022 and 2023 but in 2024 China's flow totaled $3.37 billion while the US flow was a negative $2.02 billion, meaning that American companies divested in 2024.
Comment: Annual flows can be terribly misleading. Total FDI stock at any given time is a better indicator of a country's investment. According to a recent Atlantic Council study, China's total investment stock in Africa peaked at about $45 billion in 2018. It subsequently declined slightly due to more divestment than new investment and totaled only about $42 billion in 2023. Adding China's 2024 FDI to the total stock would bring it back to its 2018 peak, which suggests that Chinese FDI stock in Africa has been essentially flat since 2018.
