Ethiopia's Economy Moves from China Model to Africa's Free Agent

 Forbes published on 1 July 2026 an article titled "Ethiopia: From China's Star Pupil to Africa's Free Agent" by Wesley Alexander Hill.

For years, China found an eager partner in Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which ruled Ethiopia and embraced elements of China's development model.  It delivered impressive economic growth for many years, but it also contained structural weaknesses that Beijing's own system largely avoided.  

The rise of Abiy Ahmed marked the end of this era.  Ethiopia's current economic strategy represents one of Africa's most consequential experiments in macroeconomic liberalization.

The Plusses and Minuses of Chinese Infrastructure Projects in Africa

 Polity published on 28 November 2025 a commentary titled "China's Infrastructure Partnerships in Africa Require Strategising Developmental Needs over Debt Risks and Security Vulnerabilities."

Chinese state banks and companies have financed numerous interest-bearing loans for African infrastructure projects.  While much African infrastructure has been developed in this way, dependence on Chinese suppliers and management poses potential risks for African nations, especially concerning control over port and telecommunication systems.

Libya Briefly Suspends and Then Allows Huawei to Resume Operations

 The Libyan News Agency posted on 20 August 2025 an article titled "The Telecommunications Authority Announces Its Agreement with Huawei Libya to Ensure the Continuation of Its Activities."

Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli announced in mid-August that it had suspended the activities of Huawei Libya for violating national and international laws and to ensure the protection of national security.  The Authority said Huawei had engaged in illegal contracts with illegitimate entities in the country.  Several days later, the GNU reached an agreement with Huawei Libya to ensure the continuation of its activities in accordance with applicable legislation.  

Sudan: RSF Reportedly Shuts Down Telecommunications

 Reuters published on 5 February 2024 an article titled "Sudanese RSF Brings Down Telecoms Networks Across Sudan--Sources" by Nafisa Eltahir.  

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly interrupted communications across most of Sudan on 5 February.  The RSF shut down the connections for the two major providers in Sudan: South African-owned MTN Sudan and state-owned Sudani.  

China's Digital Silk Road in Africa

 The Voice of America published on 11 March 2023 an article titled "China's 'Digital Silk Road' in Africa Raises Questions" by Kate Bartlett.

The article discusses US concerns with China's Digital Silk Road in Africa, suggesting that some of the technology may be abused and used for illicit surveillance purposes.   

UK Relations with Ethiopia

 The Royal United Services Institute published in February 2023 a study titled "On Shifting Ground: An Appraisal of UK Engagement in Ethiopia" by Simon Rynn.

The paper looks at UK engagement in Ethiopia from 2015 to the present, concluding that London has made some limited progress on aspects of its foreign policy agenda in the country.  But the UK has been constrained by smaller and unpredictable budgets, the unplanned merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, the absence of a detailed strategy for Ethiopia, and weaknesses with leadership.  The overriding limiting factor for UK action in Ethiopia in recent years has, however, been a worsening operating context since a change in Ethiopia's leadership in 2018.

China-United States Technology Competition in Africa

 The Diplomat published on 27 December 2022 an analysis titled "Countering China in Africa by Reaffirming US Tech Leadership" by Sam Howell, Center for New American Security.

The author argues that to effectively mitigate the influence of Huawei and other Chinese tech giants in Africa, the United States must position itself as a willing and reliable partner and support the Biden administration's Digital Transformation with Africa.  

Ethiopia: Services Return Slowly to Tigray Region; Eritrean Troops Remain

 The Associated Press published on 7 December 2022 an article titled "Electricity, Telecoms Return to Parts of Ethiopia's Tigray."

The government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported on 6 December that Tigray's capital, Mekele, had been reconnected to the national power grid and telecommunications have resumed in parts of southern Tigray.  The internet and other services remain largely unavailable and Eritrean troops have not yet left Tigray.  

China's Huawei Leads 5G Sales in Africa

 The South China Morning Post published on 7 November 2022 an article titled "China's Huawei Seeks to Lead 5G Boom in Africa, as US, Europe Shut Doors" by Jevans Nyabiage."

Faced with bans in the United States and Europe, China's Huawei is focusing on Africa where African leaders are putting their interests first and ignoring Western admonitions about security or spying.

China's Huawei Launches 5G Networks in South Africa and Kenya

 Reuters published on 27 October 2022 an article titled "South Africa's Telkom Launches 5G Network with Huawei."  Telcom launched its 5G high-speed internet network using Huawei technology to compete with larger Vodacom and MTN and smaller Rain in the 5G race.  

Business Daily published on 28 October 2022 an article titled "Safaricom 5G Users to Pay Higher Mobile Data Tariffs."  Kenya's Safaricom has become the first telecommunications company in East Africa to commercially launch 5G high-speed internet service with infrastructure built by China's Huawei and Finland's Nokia.  

China's Digital Silk Road in Morocco

 The Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis published on 23 May 2022 a study titled "China's Digital Silk Road in Morocco: The Implications of Digital Sector Dominance" by Bryce F. Neary, Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, and Innovation Law.

While Morocco expands its digital engagement with China by purchasing Chinese equipment and seeking Chinese funding for projects, it is also concerned about cyber security and digital independence.  

Critical Infrastructure in China's Africa Strategy

 The National Bureau of Asian Research published on 3 May 2022 a major study titled "(In) Roads and Outposts: Critical Infrastructure in China's Africa Strategy" edited by Nadege Rolland.

It examines the implications of China's growing presence in African ports, railways, industrial parks, information and telecommunication networks, and power generation.  It has chapters by Isaac Kardon on ports, Yunnan Chen on railways, Daria Impiombato on telecommunications, Erica Downs on power, and Thierry Pairault on industrial parks.  

Sharp Decline in China's Loans to Africa Since 2016

 Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in April 2022 a study titled "Chinese Loans to Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic" by Jyhjong Hwang, Oyintarelado Moses, Lucas Engel, and Sobia Shadbar.

Containing much useful data, the study includes a chart of the value of Chinese loans to Africa from 2000 through 2020.  After peaking at about $28 billion in 2016, Chinese financing in Africa subsequently dropped sharply to $8.3 billion in 2019 and only $1.9 billion in 2020.  While COVID-19 may have contributed to the low amount in 2020, the decline was well underway before the outbreak of the pandemic.  

China's PEACE Cable Links Pakistan and Northeast Africa

 The Middle East Institute published in March 2022 a report titled "Connecting Beijing's Global Infrastructure: The PEACE Cable in the Middle East and North Africa" by Thomas Blaubach.

One of the most ambitious elements of China's Digital Silk Road is the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) fiber-optic cable.  China has long expressed its ambition to connect the greater Middle East and Europe with Chinese fiber optics in order to expand its presence in the region.  Chinese involvement in these and other critical locations of the PEACE cable illustrates the geopolitical importance of undersea fiber-optic cables.

Africa and China's Digital Silk Road

 The Council on Foreign Relations posted on 1 February 2022 an analysis titled "China's Digital Silk Road and Africa's Technological Future" by Motolani Agbebi.

Although the Digital Silk Road is largely a rebranding of China's continuing engagement in the digital technology sector, Chinese financing and Chinese companies have played a particularly significant role in providing telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.

China-Africa Relations and the US Response

 The Center for American Progress published on 5 October 2021 a commentary titled "5 Things U.S. Policymakers Must Understand about China-Africa Relations" by Jordan Link.

To get U.S.-Africa policy right, the author argues Washington needs to understand the following five realities about China-Africa relations:

--Africans view the United States and China favorably.

--Chinese economic activities across Africa are not solely extractive and they create jobs.

--The claims that China is engaged in debt trap diplomacy lacks evidence, but transparency is still a key concern.

--Chinese state financing is paving the way for Chinese companies to dominate telecommunications infrastructure development in many African countries.

--Chinese commercial activity has harmed the environment in many African countries.  

Analysis of Chinese-built Infrastructure Projects in Tanzania and Kenya

 The Washington Post Monkey Cage published on 18 August 2021 an analysis titled "A Chinese Airport Project in Zanzibar Floundered. Here's What the New G-7 Infrastructure Plan Can Learn" by Veda Vaidyanathan.

The analysis looks at 5 Chinese-built infrastructure projects in Tanzania and Kenya--4 financed by the China Export Import Bank and 1 by the World Bank.  The advantages of Chinese projects were high speed, enormous scale, and low costs, although the Zanzibar international airport project experienced major delays and was well over budget.  

Short Essays on China-Africa Relations

 The Italian Institute for International Political Studies published on 29 July 2021 a series of short essays on the following China-Africa topics:

--Forum on China-Africa Cooperation: Looking Back, Going Forward by Chris Alden

--From Financing to Agency: What Changed in Two Decades of FOCAC by Cobus van Staden

--The Long Trail of China-Africa Health Cooperation: Aid, Trade and High Politics by Maddalena Procopia

--China-Africa Economic Relations: The BRI, the AfCFTA, and the Rest of the World by Linda Calabrese

--China-Africa Cooperation in the Energy Sector: Towards a More Sustainable Pathway? by Wei Shen

--China's Blended Approach to Security in Africa by Paul Nantulya

--China's Evolving Role in Africa's Digitalisation from Building Infrastructure to Shaping Ecosystems by Rebecca Arcesati

--Strengthening African Food Systems: What Role Can China Play? by Julian May

--In Line for FOCAC 2021: Africa, China, and the Others by Lina Benabdallah

US-China Digital Competition in Africa

 The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on 28 July 2021 on US Trade and Investment in Africa.  Testimony by Aubrey Hruby, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, contained a section beginning on page 7 titled "How US Investment in 5G and Telecoms Can Help Bridge the Digital Divide on the Continent."  

This section of testimony summarizes China's digital engagement in Africa and suggests ways that US companies can still compete in an area where Chinese companies have the lead.  

Huawei's 5G Hits Speed Bump in Kenya

 Wee Tracker, an African research and media company, posted on 5 January 2021 an article titled "For Huawei, A Botched Deal with Safaricom Could Be Fatal."

Kenya's Safaricom, the largest telecommunications company in East Africa, has "put on hold" its plan for China's Huawei to upgrade its equipment to 5G.  The reasons for the setback are not clear, but it could herald more trouble for Huawei's sales in Africa.  In the meantime, some African countries are turning to Nokia and Ericsson to upgrade to 5G.