China and the United States are competing for Africa’s rich mineral resources and its potential as a consumer market, an analyst said.
News Analysis
The Chinese communist regime’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is touring Africa as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seeks to expand its influence on the continent and compete with the United States and Europe for key resources. His visit marks the 35th consecutive year that a CCP foreign minister has undertaken a trip to Africa.
Wang met with the Chadian president on Jan. 9 and congratulated President Mahamat Deby Itno on reestablishing constitutional order.
Hours after Wang’s visit, an attack on Chad’s presidential palace left 19 people.
In December 2024, France began withdrawing its troops from Chad after authorities announced the termination of defense cooperation with France.
Wang’s visit to Chad is because “the CCP wants to take this opportunity to play a more important role in African security, which is worthy of concern,” Chen Shih-min, associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 7.
Wang also visited Nigeria, Namibia, and the Republic of the Congo during his African tour.
China Development Bank released a $254.76 million loan to Nigeria for a railway project days before his Jan. 8 visit to the country.
In the past 10 to 20 years, the CCP has strengthened its relations with African countries through economic incentives, such as providing loans or economic aid, Chen said.
Unlike Western countries that require them to improve human rights conditions and democratize, “the CCP emphasized that it would not attach any political conditions,” Chen said. “Most African countries are relatively authoritarian and prefer to do business with the CCP [over the West].”
He said it may be difficult for the CCP to provide large amounts of financial assistance to African countries as often as before due to its sluggish economy and huge government debts.
Chen Ping-kuei, a professor in the department of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taiwan told The Epoch Times that Wang Yi’s visit to Africa is customary and is mainly to maintain relations with African countries. “The CCP has long-term investments in these countries, so it is not surprising that he visited these four countries,” he said.
Belt and Road in Africa
The Chinese regime has invested in African countries mainly through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly known as the “One Belt, One Road.”
CCP leader Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy project aims to recreate ancient China’s Silk Road for trading with countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa in the 21st century while exerting the CCP’s political influence and reshaping the world order.
The initiative invests Chinese capital in the construction of various high-cost projects in 150 participating countries. It has been widely criticized as setting up debt traps and causing a debt crisis for those countries, some of which had to give China control of their strategic ports or mines as a result.
As of 2023, 52 out of 54 African countries had joined the BRI.
The BRI investment projects in Africa mostly employ Chinese workers, resulting in a backlash from local people.
Yeh Yao-Yuan, assistant professor of political science at the University of St. Thomas, told The Epoch Times, “It has even affected the internal politics of these African countries. When they are unable to repay their debts, it has become another type of colonialism.”
On the one hand, the African countries need the money, but on the other hand, they feel that the money China gives “is very risky and they are in a dilemma,” Yeh said. “Wang Yi’s job is to persuade them to make the deals [with the CCP].”
‘Strategic Intention’
Although Wang’s visit to Africa is a customary practice, the CCP is also competing with the United States before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, Yeh said.
“As the competition between the United States and China intensifies, both the United States and China hope to gain more support from friendly countries in Africa,” he said.
He said that Wang’s visit to Africa before Trump takes office “shows a strong strategic intention.”
China and the United States are competing for Africa’s rich mineral resources and its potential as a consumer market, Yeh said.
“China has a rare earth ban on the United States. In fact, many of the world’s remaining rare earth resources are in Africa. It’s very important for the United States to control these raw materials in Africa,” he added.
Rare earth elements are essential for manufacturing semiconductor chips, especially advanced AI chips used in automobiles and weapons.
The CCP is attempting to use Wang’s visit “to influence the politics of African countries again and may use BRI to invest in these countries,” Yeh said.
Luo Ya and Reuters contributed to this report.