How China Built Its Way Into Africa
From railways in Kenya to ports in Djibouti, China’s footprint across Africa is now impossible to miss. Over the past two decades, Beijing has transformed itself into one of the continent’s most consequential partners, and its presence reaches far beyond trade. Chinese money is financing highways, rail lines, power plants, mines, and telecom networks. Chinese companies are embedded in critical infrastructure. Chinese diplomats are shaping political alliances.
For many African governments, the appeal is obvious: fast financing, fewer political conditions, and visible development. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has backed some of Africa’s largest infrastructure projects, funding transport corridors and logistics hubs that Western lenders long deemed too risky. In countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, Chinese loans have helped build railways, ports, and highways intended to unlock regional trade and economic growth.
Chinese firms are also investing heavily in mining, energy, and telecommunications, bringing jobs, construction capacity, and technical expertise. Trade has surged alongside these investments. China is now Africa’s largest trading partner, with the continent exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods at scale. In 2024 alone, China–Africa trade exceeded $350 billion, a sign of just how intertwined the two economies have become.
But the same projects driving growth are also raising red flags. Several governments are struggling to service large Chinese debts, often under opaque or stringent loan terms. Critics warn that heavy borrowing risks creating dependency, limiting policy flexibility, and giving Beijing leverage over strategic assets. For some, the promise of development increasingly comes with uncomfortable questions about sovereignty.
Bases and Ballots
China’s ambitions in Africa are not purely economic. They are also strategic. In 2017, Beijing opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti, a landmark move that signaled China’s willingness to project hard power far from home. Since then, China has expanded military cooperation across the continent through joint exercises, arms sales, training programs, and security agreements.
Chinese forces now participate in peacekeeping missions and anti-piracy patrols, presenting themselves as contributors to regional stability. For African states facing insurgencies, terrorism, or fragile borders, this support can be valuable. Yet security partnerships also deepen political influence. Arms exports and defense ties can entrench relationships with fragile or authoritarian governments. In volatile regions such as South Sudan and the Sahel, analysts warn that poorly managed security assistance could aggravate existing conflicts rather than resolve them.
At the diplomatic level, Beijing’s leverage is increasingly visible. Many African governments regularly back China at the United Nations on sensitive issues including Taiwan, the South China Sea, and human rights. Economic cooperation often translates into political alignment. China’s soft power push reinforces this trend. State-backed media, scholarships, and Confucius Institutes promote Beijing’s governance model and development narrative, shaping how a rising generation of African elites views China’s role in the world.
Taken together, infrastructure, security, and diplomacy form a comprehensive strategy - not just partnership, but influence.
Deals, Not Dependency
None of this means China’s presence is inherently harmful. For many countries, Chinese engagement has delivered tangible gains: roads where none existed, ports that boost exports, and capital that might otherwise never have arrived. The challenge is not whether to work with China but how. The risks are real and increasingly visible.
Debt burdens threaten economic independence in countries such as Zambia and Kenya. Some Chinese firms import their own labor, reducing job opportunities for local workers and limiting skills transfer. Projects sometimes bypass local consultation or transparency standards, weakening governance and public trust. And heavy reliance on Beijing can complicate relations with other major partners, including the United States, the European Union, and regional powers, turning Africa into a new arena for global rivalry.
If unmanaged, today’s development boom could become tomorrow’s dependency trap. But dependency is not inevitable. African governments have agency and leverage. Stronger regulations on foreign investment and borrowing can protect public finances. Local content requirements can ensure jobs and technology transfer stay in-country. Greater transparency can improve accountability. Regional coordination through the African Union can strengthen collective bargaining power, preventing countries from negotiating alone. And a balanced foreign policy, engaging China alongside the U.S., Europe, and others, can preserve strategic autonomy. In short, partnership must not come at the price of control.
The Power Question
China’s presence in Africa is reshaping the continent’s economic, political, and security landscape at extraordinary speed. Its investments, trade, and military ties offer real opportunities for growth and stability. But without careful management, they also risk creating debt dependence, governance gaps, and reduced sovereignty.
Africa’s future should not be decided in Beijing or Washington. It needs to be decided in African capitals, by leaders willing to negotiate firmly, regulate wisely, and balance global partnerships without surrendering control. Development and sovereignty do not have to be mutually exclusive. But achieving both will require strategy, coordination, and strength. The question is no longer whether China will shape Africa’s future. It’s whether Africa will shape the terms of that relationship.
Pharis Gichanga
Policy Analyst
