China will pitch its goods and green exports to a summit of fifty African countries in Beijing this week before Western restrictions kick in. African leaders will be asked to buy electric powered cars and sun panels, in exchange for extra pledges of loans and investment.
The African leaders will also seek assurances on the progress of incomplete Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, such as a railway designed to link the greater East African region. They will want to hear how China plans to meet an unfulfilled pledge from the previous summit in 2021 to buy $300 billion of goods.
African investors and trade partner are moving away from funding big-ticket projects in the resource-rich continent, preferring to sell it the advanced and green technologies Chinese firms have invested in heavily.
As the Chinese export’s looms, their top priority will be finding buyers for its EVs and solar panels, and building overseas production bases for emerging markets in Africa.
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China has already started giving conditions for its loans to Africa, setting aside more for solar farms, EV plants and 5G Wi-Fi facilities, while cutting back on bridges, ports and railways.
China’s outsized role as a financial and trade partner makes its meetings a far bigger deal, however. It will want to talk up boosting trade and access to its minerals like copper, cobalt and lithium in countries such as Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
As we know China will be cautious about more funding commitments following debt restructuring bids in economies such as Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana and Zambia, since the 2021 summit.
Last year, from Boston University Global Development Data Policy Center showed that China offered 13 loans of just $4.2 billion to eight African states and $500 million for hydropower and solar projects.
