China will host a summit of 50 African countries in Beijing this week to boost clean tech exports to Africa before Western curbs land on Chinese renewable energy tech exports like electric vehicles and solar panels in exchange for more pledges for investment and loans. In
As Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes African leaders during the ninth Forum on China-African Co-operation Summit on Thursday, his largest hurdle at the three-yearly event may not be making fresh pledges but explaining its intentions to roll out unfulfilled pledges from the last edition in 2021 to purchase $300 billion worth of goods from Africa.
Many African leaders will also seek assurance on pledged infrastructural projects like a railway link East-Africa with China. However, Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project, thinks the biggest winners from the continent will go to “countries who have carefully studied the changes in China and align their proposals with China’s new slimmed-down priorities” while alleging that Africa has a significantly “poor China literacy.”
China Seeks Emerging Markets as Tariffs on Chinese Exports Loom
President Xi Jinping’s government reportedly prioritized buyers in emerging markets for its EVs and solar infrastructure. According to a report from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Centre, China offered Africa an estimated $4.6 bn loan in 2023, the highest in four years. The government also reportedly deployed $500m to deploy hydropower and solar infrastructure across the continent.
African leaders from Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe will meet with Jinping to discuss China’s renewable energy tech industry. The only African country that won’t attend the event is Eswatini, with which China has no ties.
However, as Hannah Ryder, founder of Development Reimagined, an African-owned consultancy told Reuters, the big question remains whether African leaders can push China to dig in so that the balance of the “win” is the way towards the African side.” While Ryder observes that China is Africa’s biggest partner, the US, UK, Italy, Russia, and South Korea have all held similar summits with African leaders on clean tech exports in recent years to avoid losing the entire market share to China.
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