A new report released ahead of the 2026 African Development Bank Annual Meetings has revealed a major shift in China’s engagement with Africa, with trade ties growing stronger even as large-scale lending slows down.
The research, published by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), shows that China is highly focused on trade, strategic investments and targeted partnerships across the African continent.
According to the report, trade between China and Africa reached a record $275 billion in 2024. Africa imported goods worth $182 billion from China, while exports to China stood at $93 billion.
China was also the top export destination for 19 African countries during the year, highlighting Beijing’s growing influence in African trade.
It was observed that Africa continues to export minerals to China. These include copper, cobalt, manganese, bauxite and aluminum as China demands more transitional minerals in its manufacturing process and clean energy.
It was found that there was an increase in the export of low-carbon technologies from China to Africa. It was estimated that China’s low-carbon technologies export to the African continent amounted to $9.8 billion in 2024, in terms of energy generation, energy storage and pollution control technology.
However, most of this export was done to only a handful of countries. This includes South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria.
With respect to investment, it was seen that the Chinese foreign direct investment made in Africa has rebounded quite sharply in 2023 and 2024 after experiencing a slowdown during the pandemic era.
Chinese companies announced $73.9 billion worth of greenfield investment and $38.1 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions in Africa from 2004 to 2024.
According to researchers, mergers and acquisitions prevailed prior to the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative of China but greenfield investment has gained momentum in recent times.
However, it was found that the Chinese lending to Africa has been declining since 2020.
In the year 2023, China granted loans to eight countries in Africa amounting to $4.61 billion. The following year, that is 2024, China gave loans of total value $2.1 billion.
The financial sector received the largest share of the loans, followed by transport and energy projects.
Additionally, the report indicated that Chinese loan disbursements to Africa had fallen below the $5 billion mark per year, a sharp decrease when compared with the years of the 2010s when the Chinese provided loans to Africa exceeding those of the World Bank.
The study further indicated that Africa has been returning more money back to China than it has been borrowing from the country. As such, capital outflows have exceeded inflows.
Another significant observation in the study was that China had stopped financing new coal, oil, and gas projects in Africa since 2019. However, loans in renewable energy projects have continued but are limited in number.
Researchers stated that there is a shift in the China-Africa partnership instead of a change in it. The level of engagement will continue to become country-specific based on the needs of each country.
This report was prepared jointly by researchers from both institutions. These include Mengdi Yue, Terrence Kairiza, Abbi M. Kedir, and Yiyuan Qi.
READ ALSO: East Africa Pushes to Cut Mitumba Imports Amid Pressure to Grow Local Fashion Industry
