Tag: Nigeria

China’s Wang Yi Africa Visit: 2025 Will Be A Fruitful Year For Sino-Africa Relations

Posted on By Sino Uganda Research Centre

By Allawi Ssemanda

Dear Editor, last week, China’s top Diplomat Wang Yi completed his week-long Africa trip having visited four different African countries of Chad, the Republic of Congo, Namibia and Nigeria.

The visit which marked 140th visit from Chinese top leadership to the continent since the year 2007. It was also 35th year in a row Chinese Foreign Minister making Africa the first destination for his foreign where traditionally the visit covers 4-5 African countries every January of the year. By all measures, the tradition confirms that China puts great importance to its cooperation with Africa. It is also a testament that China’s diplomatic ties with Africa is guided by principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, inclusiveness and real results as President Xi Jinping often states.

Wang Yi’s visit came just months after China upgraded bilateral relations between African countries with China to the level of strategic relations, with president Xi Jinping during 2024 Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) announcing that the overall characterization of Africa-China relations be elevated to all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

If critically analyzed, Wang Yi, who doubles as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, his visit is key in deepening practical cooperation between China and Africa in different sectors and promoting an in-depth development of China-Africa cooperation with real results and win-win for both sides. Indeed, President Xi Jinping observed in his 2013 FOCAC summit key note address in Durban, South Africa that; “the development of China-Africa ties can only be in the present continuous tense and never in the present perfect tense.”  A decade plus since Xi’s remarks, China continues to stand shoulder to shoulder and work with African countries for mutual benefits – a sign that Beijing is committed to her idea of building a community of shared future and prosperity for mankind in the new era.

For decades now, the trade between two sides have been growing and are projected to further grow in 2025. For example, in addition to being Africa’s largest trading partner for the last 15 years in a row, at the end of 2023, China’s trade volume with African countries reached USD 282.1 billion. At the end of 2024, this grew to USD 296 billion representing about 5% increasement, according to data by the General Administration of Customs of China.

With China’s Belt and Road Initiative which is making significant contribution in improving the continent’s infrastructure connectivity, zero tariff policy on African goods entering Chinese markets as announced by China, the figures of trade between two sides will likely grow further. Considering multiplier effects of such which include among others contributing to improved standards of living, one can safely argue that China-Africa cooperation in all ways is contributing to building a community of shared prosperity and shared future in the new era. This goes without saying that China’s initiatives such as Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiatives are also key in building the ideal world.

In this context, Wang Yi’s visit clearly shows China’s willingness to work with African counterparts in ensuring that the 10 partnership actions President Xi announced during the 2024 FOCAC summit meant to be implemented over a period of next three years are fast tracked. The 10 Partnership Actions include among others; mutual learning among civilization which will see sharing of governance experience, establishment of 25 China-Africa studies centers; the Partnership Action for trade and prosperity; the Partnership Action for industrial chain cooperation which will see the launch of an African SMEs empowerment program and  China supporting the continent to build 20 digital demonstration projects in Africa; the Partnership Action of connectivity with aim of supporting 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa; and Partnership Action on health. Under health action, China will send 2,000 medical experts in Africa, launch 20 programs of health facilities and malaria treatment and encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa’s pharmaceutical production.

Others include Partnership Action for development cooperation which will see implementation of 1,000 small and beautiful livelihood projects; Partnership Action for agriculture and livelihoods which will see increase in Chinese funding of agriculture on the continent; Partnership Action for green development; Partnership Action for people-to-people exchanges; and Partnership Action for common security.

If critically analyzed, all the 10 Partnership Actions will help the continent to address its challenges and most of its bottlenecks to development. For example, under the Partnership Action for Agriculture and livelihoods, China promised to provide Africa with 1 billion Chinese Yuan in emergency food assistance, support in building about 6,670 hectares of standardized agricultural demonstration, send agricultural experts to train their African counterparts and establish a China-Africa agricultural science and technology innovation alliance. This is in addition to implementing 500 programs meant to support and promote community welfare. More importantly, under the Partnership Action for agriculture, China’s aim is to promote two-way investments for new business by both Chinese and African companies with aim of retaining and adding value in goods produced on the continent and create at least one million jobs for the continent.

Aware that China believes in consultations other than enforcing her own ideas on her allies, one can argue that Wang Yi’s visit at a time when the two sides are readying themselves to embark on implementation of the projects under the said Partnership Actions, the visit was crucial for consultations and understanding of priorities for African countries where the partnership projects will be implemented. It is also a testament of China’s readiness and willingness to kick-start the implementation of the 10 partnership actions.

Taking the Partnership Action for common security as an example, during his Africa trip, Minister Yi was categorical that China will “firmly support Africans in addressing African issues in the African way,” stressing that “African people are the real masters of this continent.” Yi further expressed China’s stance against interfering in the Continent’s internal affairs in any form and instead showed Beijing’s willingness and readiness to support the continent so that African countries themselves can devise ways of addressing their concerns. It’s in this visit that wang announced USD 136 million to support the continent in addressing security issues, help in training of 6000 troops and 1,000 police officers across Africa. He also pledged China’s support to the continent in its interests including at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). “At the UNSC, China will always be in favor of Africa,” stressed wang Yi.

In conclusion, considering that China takes engagement and consultations with allies key in their development support; and, aware that China’s global initiatives such as Global Development Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Security Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative have some convergence with African Union’s Agenda 2063, one can safely argue that 2025 will be a fruitful year for China-Africa cooperation. With Wang Yi’s just concluded visit, this assertion is arguably bankable especially that both sides are determined to strengthen their achievements and that Beijing has been clear that her relationship with Africa is guided by principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefits and real results with aim of building a community of shared future for mankind in the new era.

The writer is a resident senior research fellow at the Development watch Centre.

China’s Wang Yi’s Africa Visit Shows Her Value

Posted on By Sino Uganda Research Centre

By Joshua Kingdom

“Africa should be a big stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major-force rivalry”. These were the words of then Chinese Foreign Minister (FM) Qin Gang speaking to the press in Ethiopia while on his Africa visit in January 2023. Thereafter, he would fly to Angola, Gabon, Benin, and finally Egypt. This sort of thing happens at every beginning of year in a long standing tradition of demonstrating an enduring commitment to African affairs by The Chinese Communist party (CCP). For 2025, the current FM, Wang Yi concluded the year’s version of the tour in Nigeria on Thursday last week.

There is a lot that the minister’s journey achieved on its own, including the fact that his meeting with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo re-echoed China’s readiness to start on the implementation of her promises at last year’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as well as how the liaison with Chad fills a gap that the recent crisis between the country and her former colonizer had caused. For our purposes here however, we will instead focus on how it is that the custom of Chinese foreign ministers travelling to this part of the world annually is strong evidence for how much their government cherishes it.

In doing so, I hope to provide a counter-perspective to that which one often hears from the West when its media paints China’s motives in relating with Africa as opportunistic through and through. As you read on, please keep at the back of your mind the fact that these cries have somehow become louder at a time when the potential of the AU states begins to vividly show– it is estimated for instance, that we will spend as much as $16 trillion in consumption and business yearly by 2050.

The shift in partnership preference by African leaders from West to East is explainable in part by the fact that Beijing has treated them with dignity. While President Hu Jintao hosted the first China-Africa Summit in 2006 thus, it took almost a decade before the United States thought that organizing an equivalent event was worth the bother. No example brings out this point better however, than the FMs’ engagements. I mean, the practice has been going for thirty-five years now. Surely, everyone would agree that the state of geopolitics has changed so much from 1990 that China cannot have been lying low all this while waiting for when the moment is right. Add to this the fact that FMs are often high ranking state officials such that their involvement in any duty is a mark of the significance that their party attaches to it and you see where this is going. Indeed, Wang Yi presently serves on the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Moreover, China has made gains from the China-Africa FM trips as much as Africa has. Seeing the deliberate effort that the CCP leadership has invested through this initiative, other global powers are beginning to send more of their top politicians on the continent with competing offers. In 2023 alone hence, United States Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited five African nations between themselves. And in December last year, President Biden made his way to Angola. Significantly, the latter country has a lot to thank China for since western powers had mostly abandoned it during the immediate aftermath of the disastrous war that wrecked it at the turn of the century.

Knowing that there is no place in which actions speak louder than words than in foreign relations then, the time that Chinese FMs spend on the continent every beginning of year tells us all that we need to know about their homeland’s view of Africa. Countries in the Northern hemisphere will have to up the game before earning the right to convince Africans otherwise.

The writer is a lawyer and research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

Uganda-China Relations: Partnership of Equals and Win-Win Cooperation

Posted on By Sino Uganda Research Centre

By Ndunaka Godswill Chikamso

Like many other countries, Uganda has been seeking foreign investment and partnerships to drive economic development and the country has made significant strides towards economic development in recent years, thanks to the support of various international partners. One such partnership that has been growing in significance is China-Uganda Relations.

China and Uganda have a longstanding relationship dating back to the early 1960s when Uganda gained independence. The relationship has been characterized by cooperation in various areas, including trade, infrastructure development, and education. Over the years, China has provided significant assistance to Uganda in the form of aid, loans, and investments opportunities. In 2018, China was Uganda’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth over $1.2 billion. Since then, Beijing remains one of Uganda’s leading trade partners and major source of foreign direct investments (FDI).

With China introducing zero tariff to Ugandan goods which will see Ninety-eight percent of Ugandan goods accessing Chinese market tariff free, trade between the two countries is expected to grow further. Last year, Chinese Ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong announced the Special Preferential Tariff Treatment of Ugandan Exports to China, explaining that this was in line with commitments made by China at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Senegal last year.

Even before the said Special Preferential Tariff Treatment, China has been investing heavily in Uganda, particularly in infrastructure development projects such as roads, bridges, and power plants. The most notable project is the 51 kilometers Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, which was constructed with a loan from China’s Exim Bank and has greatly improved the country’s transportation sector. Additionally, China has financed the construction of the Karuma and Isimba hydroelectric power plants, which will increase Uganda’s energy capacity and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The entry of Chinese construction firms into Ugandan market is always cited as the reason for reducing billing prices for road construction in Uganda. Indeed, at the time when European companies were dominating road construction business, the construction of one kilometer took about 3.1 billion shillings compared to current rate of about 2.1 billion shillings per kilometer.

China has also invested in Uganda’s telecommunications sector, with Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE playing a significant role in the country’s development of 4G networks and fibre optic cables. This has greatly improved internet connectivity in Uganda and provided opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Another sector that China has played a significant role in Uganda’s economic development is supporting the country’s infrastructure especially road and energy sectors which has in turn helped easing transportation of goods and services and also helped in addressing unemployment challenge. In 2014, while closing a two-day Pan African Youth Conference at Serena International Hotel Conference in Kigali Rwanda, President Yoweri Museveni explained that “infrastructure development such as Roads, Electricity and Railway in any country is of importance as it attracts investments and creates jobs for the youths.”

In 2017, while on a visit to Uganda, Christine Lagarde, then Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) credited Uganda for what she described as “Uganda has appropriately embarked on a strategy of scaled-up infrastructure investment in the energy and transport sectors to relieve key growth bottlenecks and enhance regional linkages.” Lagarde argued that “focusing on overcoming implementation challenges, including through strengthening public investment management, should help ensure that these investments yield the desired outcomes in terms of higher growth and job creation.”  If critically analysed, the improvement and development of Uganda’s energy and infrastructure sector became possible largely because of China’s assistance.

Today, Africa’s biggest challenge, especially Sub-Saharan region, is poor and aging infrastructure.  A 2022 study by McKinsey and Company concluded that unless addressed, infrastructure deficits in key sectors such as roads and energy will continue to hinder African countries’ economic growth and development especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study concluded that while the region is faced with high demand of infrastructure development, there are few partners or investors willing to provided huge amounts needed for such projects. Therefore, China’s readiness to back such projects in Uganda and Africa in general cannot be underestimated.

However, while China’s hand in supporting African countries infrastructure is a big boost, Uganda and other African countries must should only borrow and invest in projects that can easily spur economic development as a way of ensuring easy servicing of loan facilities extended while undertaking such infrastructure projects so that issues such as rising debts critics often point at are avoided.

That said, there are multitudes of opportunities that comes with steady and good relations between China and African countries. The other area with huge potential for cooperation is in the field of agriculture. While China is already working with Uganda in this area especially through FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) in which China has since 2015 been supporting agriculture initiatives in Uganda, if projects under SSC especially its phase III are spread throughout the country, more fruits will be realized in a short period. SSC has potential to spark Uganda’s economic development especially if they work together with Uganda government’s introduced Parish Development Model (PDM).  Uganda is an agricultural country, and there is a need to enhance agricultural productivity and value addition. With her rich experience in modern agriculture, China can provide technical support, expertise, and investment towards Uganda’s agricultural sector.

In conclusion, China has played a significant role in Uganda’s economic development, providing funding and investment for critical infrastructure projects. China’s engagement with Uganda has brought many benefits, including employment opportunities, enhanced energy capacity, and improved connectivity. While this has brought several benefits to the country, including job creation and economic diversification, there are also concerns about debt sustainability, environmental impact, and the impact on local industries and businesses. As Uganda continues to seek foreign investment and partnerships, it will be important to carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks of these relationships and ensure that they are sustainable and equitable.

Ndunaka Godswill Chikamso is a junior research fellow at Sino-Uganda Research Centre and a Medical student Niger Delta University, Nigeria.