(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping unveiled a raft of economic sweeteners for Africa, showcasing China’s commitment to strengthening its sway over a continent that’s key to his geopolitical ambitions.
Xi vowed to provide $50 billion in financial support at the ninth triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing on Thursday. That included a pledge to triple China’s credit lines to the continent to $30 billion, despite an economic slowdown at home that’s threatening Beijing’s annual growth goal.
Beijing’s commitment marked a 25% up tick from the last forum, when the Asian nation’s financial pledge to the content fell for the first time in over a decade. The Chinese leader also guaranteed greater support for training African military and government personnel, in a further sign of deepening ties.
“This is not the kind of pledge that is going to finance large-scale mega infrastructure projects in Africa,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project, but the amount “does enough to preserve the narrative that China is as committed to Africa as it’s been in the past.”
Xi didn’t specify where or how the money would be deployed, but Olander said the credit could finance purchases of “vast quantities of solar panels, batteries and EVs” — the “new three” green sectors Beijing is betting on to propel the world’s No. 2 economy out of a housing slump.
The continent that struggles with reliable power was the fastest growing region for Chinese exports of solar panels last year. Xi touted China as a partner in African countries’ transition to renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, saying it would help build “green growth engines.”
Still, some African leaders expressed a tentative desire this week to rebalance their economic ties with the world’s second-largest economy. China’s trade surplus with Africa rose to a record $64 billion last year, with exports surging to a new high of $173 billion, while imports moderated from 2022.
“As South Africa, we would like to narrow the trade deficit and address the structure of our trade,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told Xi on Monday. “We urge for more sustainable manufacturing and job-creating investments.”
Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye also acknowledged an imbalance in ties, but praised Beijing’s work addressing it.
“I’m pleased to see that China is actively promoting a greater balance in trade with Africa,” he said, citing Beijing’s efforts to improve the continent’s export capacity including by facilitating quarantine clearance of products to China.
Rising trade barriers in Western countries over claims the world’s No. 2 economy is exporting its overcapacity has pressed the need for China to find friendly partners to provide fresh markets for its shipments.
China’s three-day charm offensive highlights Beijing’s ongoing strategy of positioning itself as the leader of the Global South, as Xi tries to challenge the US-led world order. The Chinese president has traveled to the African continent five times since taking power, while neither Joe Biden nor his predecessor Donald Trump visited during their terms.
Xi chided unnamed Western nations for having inflicted “immense sufferings” on developing countries at the forum, which is Beijing’s main vehicle for managing its relationships in Africa. He also said China would waive all tariffs for 33 low-income African economies and upgrade diplomatic relations.
The exemption will apply to all least-developed nations with official ties with China, Xi said, meaning countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia will benefit, while Tuvalu and Haiti won’t be eligible because they recognize Taipei over Beijing. China had previously given zero-tariff access to at least six low-income African countries and promised to expand such treatment.
“China and Africa’s joint pursuit of modernization will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South,” Xi told African officials including Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi.
The remarks came after Xi hosted a gala dinner the night before for the continent’s most powerful politicians, illustrating the red-carpet treatment lavished on African leaders in China. Xi met with at least 26 African leaders in the days before the event, in a flurry of diplomacy as he sought to shore up ties across the continent.
Over the past decade, Chinese lending has fueled an infrastructure boom across Africa as part of Xi’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative, but that slowed to a trickle during the pandemic before picking up again last year. Accusations that China’s lending has saddled the continent with debt has put pressure on Beijing to recalibrate its relationships.
Broadening out China’s engagement was a theme of the event. China said it would grant 1 billion yuan in military assistance to Africa that will help train 6,000 military personnel and another 1,000 law enforcement officers. Senegal’s Foreign Minister said China would set up an academy of peace keeping as part of that security assistance.
Xi also pledged to ramp up government interactions, including by inviting 1,000 members of African political parties to China to “deepen exchanges of experience in party and state governance.”
Such programs will give African nations the chance to learn from China’s “efficient” bureaucracy, said Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official.
“It’s giving African countries more choices,” he added. “But then ultimately those militaries and the leaders of those countries will decide what models work for them.”
--With assistance from Lucille Liu, Jing Li, Sarah Chen, Yujing Liu, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Dan Murtaugh, Ocean Hou, Stephen Engle, James Mayger and John Liu.
(Updates with more details.)
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