In exchange for greater promises of loans and investment, China will press for a summit of 50 African countries to accept more of its products this week in Beijing before Western export restrictions on solar panels and electric cars take effect.
However, the group of several African leaders that come to the Chinese capital for the triennial occasion might not be simple pickings. They will be interested in learning how China intends to fulfill a commitment made during the previous summit to purchase $300 billion worth of goods by 2021.
They will also look for updates on the status of unfinished infrastructure projects backed by China, such a railroad intended to connect the larger East African region.
The largest bilateral lender, investor, and trading partner in Africa is shifting its focus from financing large-scale projects in the resource-rich continent to selling it cutting-edge and environmentally friendly technologies that Chinese companies have extensively invested in.
“The prize is going to go to those countries who have carefully studied the changes in China and align their proposals with China’s new slimmed-down priorities,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.
“That’s a big ask for a continent that generally has very poor China literacy.”
Beijing’s key priorities will be finding consumers for its solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs), areas where the United States and the European Union claim it has overcapacity, and establishing offshore production sites for emerging markets as Western limitations on Chinese exports loom.
China has already begun adjusting the terms of its loans to Africa, increasing the amount allotted for EV plants, 5G Wi-Fi networks, and solar farms while decreasing its spending on ports, railroads, and bridges.
China made 13 loans totaling just $4.2 billion to two regional banks and eight African states last year.
