African leaders look to China for project funds and trade deals at Beijing summit

China is meanwhile expected to use FOCAC talks to seek support and boost ties amid a growing geopolitical rivalry with the US and Europe

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Chinese dancers perform to welcome Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa as he arrives at Beijing Capital Airport on Monday, ahead of the FOCAC summit. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:00pm, 3 Sep 2024Updated: 7:24pm, 3 Sep 2024

Dozens of African leaders are converging on the Chinese capital for a three-day summit that begins on Wednesday, aiming to secure funding for infrastructure projects and trade deals.

Among them, Kenyan President William Ruto is expected to renew a request for financing from Beijing to complete a section of a Chinese-funded railway linking Kenya to other nations in East Africa. Work stalled on that section – to Malaba, on the border with Uganda – five years ago as the two countries struggled to pay back their debts.

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Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who began a state visit to China on Monday, will be looking to sign deals on trade and expanding market access, and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to sign new loan agreements with Beijing.

For its part, host Beijing is likely to use the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit to seek African support and strengthen ties amid its growing geopolitical rivalry with the United States and Europe.

David Shinn, a China-Africa specialist and professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said the visiting African leaders would also push China to take more of their exports both to diversify and to address large trade deficits.

He expected the African officials to also seek more technology transfers from China and more investment, especially in the manufacturing sector.