China is revising its belt and road playbook in Africa, as it moves its investment focus to agriculture, manufacturing, industrialisation and green energy, including critical metals.
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The shift is part of Beijing’s pivot towards “small but beautiful” projects in its African investment strategy. But while this could see fewer mega projects financed directly through Chinese bilateral lending, it does not mean Beijing will stop bankrolling major projects that it considers critical to growing China-Africa trade.
Nearly US$51 billion was allocated by China for lending and investment in Africa at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Beijing earlier this month. More than half that amount – 210 billion yuan (US$29.5 billion) – is a credit line.
Beijing is also encouraging more Chinese companies to partner with African businesses and governments through public-private partnership (PPP) financing models, such as build-operate-transfer agreements.
It is a model that built the 27km Nairobi Expressway in 2022, which was funded and constructed by state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Chinese company will operate the expressway for three decades to recover its investment before transferring ownership to the Kenyan government. Similar financing models have been used in Uganda, Nigeria and Zambia.