Is State Capitalism Best Way to Compete with China for Critical Minerals?

 The Washington Post published on 28 March 2026 an editorial titled "Yet Another Step Toward State Capitalism."

The US International Development Finance Corporation has taken a 20 percent stake in a graphite mine in Mozambique to counter China's control of the world's supply of graphite.  This is a tactic the Trump administration has used in other deals to control critical minerals.  The editorial asks if this is the best use of taxpayer funding when they will be left holding the bag if the company fails.  

Chinese Contractors in Africa

 The China-Africa Research Initiative published in May 2021 a study titled "Chinese International Contractors in Africa: Structure and Agency" by Hong Zhang.

The paper unpacks the role of Chinese international construction and engineering contractors in Africa.  It concludes that China's strategic goal has been to internationalize China's industrial capacity.  

How the China Model Plays in Africa

Asia Dialogue published on 27 August 2019 a commentary titled "The Chinese Model in Africa and Its Wider Challenge" by Tom Harper, University of Surrey.

The author argues that the principal advocates of the Chinese model in Africa are not Chinese elites but leaders in Africa such as South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. He adds that the Chinese model comes with both a vision for economic development and financial resources to back it up.

China: Beyond Debt Trap Diplomacy

China Brief published on 5 January 2019 an analysis titled "Beyond 'Debt-Trap Diplomacy': The Dissemination of PRC State Capitalism" by Hong Zhang, George Mason University.

The author cites China's control of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka as an example of debt-trap diplomacy. Similar concerns have arisen recently in Djibouti and Kenya. She continues, however, to make the more important point that China's effort to tie countries to a global network of state capitalism may make loans a less important tool of China's foreign policy. Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are graduating from the old model of relying on China's policy bank loans to win infrastructure contracts abroad as the margin in the contracting sector is thinning. Instead, they are looking to move up the value chain and take on the role of developer and direct investor. The debt-trap diplomacy narrative, she argues, fails to capture the changing role played by China's SOEs.

This argument makes sense in the case of infrastructure projects such as ports that may turn a profit. It is hard to see where it works in the case of railroads and roads that do not make a profit.

Ethiopia's Vanguard Capitalists

Foreign Affairs published on 26 May 2016 an article titled "Ethiopia's Vanguard Capitalists: How the EPRDF Mobilizes for Economic Development" by Toni Weis, Center for International Private Enterprise. The article looks at the development of Ethiopia's economy under the EPRDF and the role of party-owned companies.

China and Brazil in African Agriculture

The China and Brazil in African Agriculture Project has just published online a series of studies concerning Chinese and Brazilian support for African agriculture.  They will appear in an upcoming issue of World Development.  The six articles focusing on China are available below:

--A New Politics of Development Cooperation? Chinese and Brazilian Engagements in African Agriculture by Ian Scoones, Kojo Amanor, Arilson Favareto and Qi Gubo.
--South-South Cooperation, Agribusiness and African Agricultural Development: Brazil and China in Ghana and Mozambique by Kojo Amanor and Sergio Chichava.
--Chinese State Capitalism? Rethinking the Role of the State and Business in Chinese Development Cooperation in Africa by Jing Gu, Zhang Chuanhong, Alcides Vaz and Langton Mukwereza.
--Chinese Migrants in Africa: Facts and Fictions from the Agri-food Sector in Ethiopia and Ghana by Seth Cook, Jixia Lu, Henry Tugendhat and Dawit Alemu.
--Chinese Agricultural Training Courses for African Officials: Between Power and Partnerships by Henry Tugendhat and Dawit Alemu.
--Science, Technology and the Politics of Knowledge: The Case of China's Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centres in Africa by Xiuli Xu, Xiaoyun Li, Gubo Qi, Lixia Tang and Langton Mukwereza.