Why China Needs Africa

 Azerbaijan's News.az published on 31 December 2025 an article titled "Why China Needs Africa."

For Beijing, Africa has become a strategic key to the future global order.  China needs the critical minerals found in Africa and its markets to sell its goods.  Africa is also a massive testing ground for Chinese technology, especially digital products.  China wants to shape Africa, which is young, resource-rich, globally connected through corridors built by Beijing, and less dependent on Western institutions.  China is buying time and influence in Africa.  

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 Takes Lead in African Digital Development

 South Africa's The Star published on 21 December 2025 an article titled "Empowering Africa: How China's Tech Cooperation Fuels Progress" by Gideon Chitanga.

The article argues that Chinese government and companies have become critical partners in the development of Africa's digital systems and information and communications technology.  For example, Huawei has constructed an estimated 70 percent of Africa's 4-G networks.

China-Africa Cybersecurity Cooperation

 China-Africa Security Radar posted on 1 October 2025 an article titled "China's Cybersecurity Partnerships in Africa."

China hosted a forum devoted to cyberspace in September attended by representatives from 32 African countries.  Beijing unveiled an action plan for cooperation in digital economy development, cybersecurity, AI governance, and media exchanges. The forum marks an effort by China to become the primary partner shaping Africa's digital future.  

Chinese Diplomacy in Africa

 The LSE Blog posted on 6 August 2025 a commentary titled "China is Reshaping Global Power Dynamics through Diplomatic Ritual" by Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, Lingnan University, and Christian Kaunert, Dublin City University.

In January 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made his first overseas trip of the year to Africa--Chad, Republic of Congo, Namibia, and Nigeria--a practice the Chinese foreign minister has done every year since 1991.  The author argues that Wang Yi's trip represents a systematic erosion of Western influence in Africa.

China-Africa Science and Technology Collaboration

 Springer published in 2024 an open access book titled "China-Africa Science, Technology and Innovation Collaboration" edited by Mammo Muchie, Angathevar Baskaran, and Mingfeng Tang.

The book is based on papers presented at a conference with the same title sponsored by the Chinese embassy in South Africa.  About half of the authors are Chinese.  The preface comments that "Africa must also learn from the great success China has achieved.  There is a lesson Africa must learn how China managed to deal with and respond to external powers." 

The chapters cover the following sectors:

--China-Africa Collaboration to Higher Education.

--China-Africa Research Collaboration and Training.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Management.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Telecommunications and Space.

--Evolution of China-Africa Collaboration in Science, Technology and Innovation.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Digital Technologies.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Finance and Renewable Energy.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Health Sector.

--China-Africa Collaboration in Manufacturing.

South African and Chinese Companies Aim to Shape Africa's Digital Landscape

 South Africa's MTN Group and China's Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 28 February 2024 to create a joint innovation technology lab in South Africa.  The two companies will collaborate to shape Africa's digital ecosystem in areas such as 5-G and beyond, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud computing, and digital financial services.  

Comparing China's Approach to Africa and Latin America

 The Diplomat published on 21 October 2023 a commentary titled "Comparing China's Engagement in Africa and Latin America" by R. Evan Ellis, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Center.  

There are far more commonalities than differences in China's approach to Africa and Latin America, but the differences demonstrate how China adapts its policies to different geographic regions.  

China's Increasing Focus on Food Security in Africa

 Agricultural & Food Policy published in October 2023 an article titled "China's 'Hunan Model' for Realising China-Africa Food Security" by Lauren A. Johnston.  

The paper explores the role of the Chinese province of Hunan in Xi Jinping's most recent plan to modernize African agriculture.  Food security has become an increasingly important part of the China-Africa relationship.  

China and India Offer Different Higher Education Cooperation for Africans

 University World News - Africa Edition published on 5 October 2023 an article titled "Beyond BRICS: The Shaping of New Development Narratives" by Kudzai Mashininga.  

At the BRICS summit in South Africa last August, China, India, and Russia demonstrated different narratives for engaging with Africa.  China and India offered a competing model for development while Russia is trying to fill power vacuums.

In the case of higher education. Xi Jinping announced a Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development to complement its other higher education programs.  Narendra Modi said Indian universities are establishing campuses in Africa, increasing scholarships, and deploying training teams to the continent.  

A Provincial China Model for Africa

 The South African Institute of International Affairs published in July 2023 a paper titled "The Hunan Model: China's Zone for the China-Africa Future" by Lauren Johnston.  

The paper finds that an emerging Hunan model, named after the central south Chinese province in China, builds upon its comparative strengths in agriculture, construction machinery, and mining and metallurgy, as well as its recent role in poverty eradication.  It may offer a model for advancing China-Africa economic ties.  The paper offers conclusions on how African countries can make the most of the model for their own development.

China's Digital Surveillance in Africa

 Routledge published in 2022 a book containing a chapter titled "The Spread of Chinese Surveillance Tools in Africa: A Focus on Ethiopia and Kenya" by Bulelani Jili.  

The author challenges the conception that China seeks to export a model of surveillance.  Chinese companies operating in Africa such as Huawei and ZTE tend to adapt to local business practices, rather than follow Beijing's supposed geopolitical strategy.  The evidence suggests that China helps fortify the political and social processes that were already in place in Ethiopia and Kenya.  

China's Engagement in Ghana and Senegal

 The Peace Research Institute Oslo published in September 2022 a policy brief titled "China's Engagement in West Africa: The Cases of Ghana and Senegal" by Ilaria Carrozza and Marie Sandnes.

The brief compares China's engagement in Ghana and Senegal.  It found that China is engaged more deeply and across a wider range of sectors in Ghana than in Senegal.  

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at 21 Years

 LSE Ideas published in October 2021 a collection of essays titled "FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations" by the China Foresight Project.

The next FOCAC Summit is scheduled to take place in late November in Senegal.  The goal of this report is to highlight emerging trends that have the potential to shape China-Africa relations in the near to medium-term future.

It includes the following essays:

--Introduction: FOCAC in a Time of COVID-19 by Chris Alden.

--Can China Pull Back? A Balance-of-Payments Assessment of the Decline in China's Overseas Investment by Stephen Paduano.

--Africa's Priorities at FOCAC: Economic Recovery and Resilience by Mzukisi Qobo.

--Seeking Stability: China's Security Engagement in Africa by Lukas Fiala.

--Going beyond the Stereotypes: China's Digital Infrastructure in Africa by Iginio Gagliardone.

--Education and Knowledge Production by Yu-Shan Wu.

--Expanding Horizons: China-Africa Cooperation on Space Technology by Gidon Gautel.

--China-Africa Public Health Cooperation and Vaccine Diplomacy by Lina Benabdallah.

China's Digital Silk Road

 The Center for Strategic and International Studies published on 19 October 2021 a study titled "Mapping China's Digital Silk Road" by Jonathan E. Hillman.

This is an analysis of China's global digital diplomacy.  Countries in Africa comprise a key part of the outreach effort.

China, South Africa and Social Media

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) published in January 2013 an analysis titled "The Role of Public Sentiment and Social Media in the Evolving China-Africa Relationship" by Yu-Shan Wu, an assistant researcher at SAIIA.  The title is misleading in that the focus is almost exclusively the relationship with South Africa.  The analysis is stronger on the social media situation in China than in Africa.  Nevertheless, this is one of the few studies that has looked at social media in the China-Africa context.


The author notes that social media is changing Chinese and African society, where the youth are at the forefront of media communication technology.  In the case of South Africa, social media have not been utilized widely by the leadership to engage the public.  Africa is moving ahead faster than China in making use of new communication technology.  In spite of this trend, South Africa demonstrates the limits of social media on the decision making process.