Do the Communist Party’s ties in Africa pay economic dividends for China?

China’s Communist Party maintains relations with more than 100 political parties across the continent

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A recent trip to Kenya and South Africa by Li Xi, a member of China’s Standing Committee of the Politburo, underscores the Communist Party’s efforts in party-to-party ties in Africa. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:32pm, 19 Nov 2024Updated: 5:22pm, 19 Nov 2024

African countries with closer party-to-party relations with China’s Communist Party also tend to enjoy stronger economic relations with the Asian economic giant, analysts say.

Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Communist Party of China has held a flurry of meetings – either online or in person, in China or in Africa – with African political parties to reboot political and economic relations.

The Communist Party maintains ties with more than 100 political parties across Africa – although not in eSwatini, which recognises Taiwan.

The party has a long history of building relationships with political parties or movements in African countries such as Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Angola and Mozambique and supplied military and ideological training during their struggle for independence.

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The relationships have remained robust and many of these parties and movements continued to hold joint training with the Communist Party over the decades.