Turkish Think Tank Sees Recalibration of China-Africa Relations in 2025

 The International Asia Today published on 30 December 2025 an analysis titled "The Great Recalibration: Why 2025 Changed the Rules of China-Africa Engagement" by Goktug Caliskan.

The year 2025 marked a qualitative shift in China-Africa relations from an infrastructure-driven partnership to a more complex combination of trade liberalization, industrial engagement, institutional coordination, and long-term policy alignment.  China-Africa relations are increasingly structured as a system rather than a sequence of transactions.  

China Expands Engagement in Kenyan Ports

 The China Global South Project published on 17 April 2025 an article titled "China Eyes Strategic Role in Kenya's Port Privatization Plans" by Christain Geraud Neema Byamungu.

China is positioning itself for a larger role in Kenya's port infrastructure.  The China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) has recently been awarded the contract to construct Berth 198 at the Port of Mombasa.  CCCC previously provided maritime infrastructure at the port of Lamu.  

China to Help Finance Completion of Railway to Ugandan Border

 Kenyans.co posted on 7 April 2025 an article titled "Kenya Agrees to Railway Tolls for New Ksh706 Billion SGR Deal with Chinese Financiers" by Frankline Oduor.  

A consortium of Chinese financiers has agreed to provide 40 percent of the funding for the controversial standard gauge railway extension from Naivasha, Kenya to the Ugandan border.  The $5.3 billion funding will be in the form of a public private partnership with the reimbursement to Chinese companies coming from tolls collected from use of the railway.  

Public Private Partnership Behind Chinese Financing of Kenyan Stadium

 The Diplomat published on 24 January 2025 a commentary titled "China's Stadium Diplomacy in Africa, Pt. 1: The Talanta Sports Stadium in Nairobi" by Istvan Tarrosy and Zoltan Voros.  

The China Road and Bridge Corporation is constructing a 60,000-capacity sports stadium in Nairobi to be ready for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027.  Financing details have not been made public, but the project is based on a public private partnership model, which is attracting increasing interest in Chinese financing.  

Is China Moving from Loans to Public Private Partnerships in Africa? (in Mandarin)

 Radio Free Asia published on 5 September 2024 an article in Mandarin on China's alleged move from loans to public private partnerships to finance infrastructure projects in Africa.  It draws on such speculation from an article in Bloomberg but also finds skeptics concerning a switch to public private partnerships.  

China Seeks Different Ways to Finance African Projects

 Bloomberg published on 3 September 2024 an article titled "Xi Wants Bigger Returns, Fewer Headaches from African Debt Deals" by Neil Munshi and Peter Martin.

As African leaders arrive in Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the authors emphasize that China is seeking different ways of financing large projects in Africa that don't add to the debt woes facing a number of African countries.  Not only will there be a decrease in the number of mega loans that China provided several years ago, but it is looking to offer more public-private partnerships.

China-Africa Economic Engagement Since 2000

 The China Global South Project published on 26 August 2024 an analysis titled "Learning Through Lending: China-Africa Economic Engagement through FOCACs Past and Present" by Lucas Engel.  

The analysis underscores China's move away from financing of large infrastructure projects in Africa, a new focus on lending to small-and medium-sized enterprises and growing African trade deficits with China.  It suggests these changes have constituted a renegotiation of the basic tenets of China-Africa economic engagement.  The analysis concludes that efforts to correct past imbalances and embrace and preserve past successes will be necessary to realize the full potential of next month's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.