As China Expands Its Presence in Africa, Smaller EU States Rush to Catch Up

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen speaks during a press conference with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa and European Council President Antonio Costa following the SA-EU trilateral leaders’ meeting at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton on November 20, 2025, ahead of the G20 leaders' Summit. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)

By Umberto Bacchi

From Finland opening diplomatic outposts in Senegal to Czech instructors training Mauritanian security forces, a group of smaller European nations has joined a global scramble for influence in Africa.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across the Global South.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China’s relations across the Global South.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Agence France-Presse

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2
Uncertainty Roils Minerals Markets
3 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
4 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths

You Might Like

Gyude Moore: Amid Heightened U.S.-China Tensions, Europe Can be a Stabilizing Force for Africa

With both Europe and Africa uncomfortably stuck in the middle of the increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China conflict, Gyude Moore, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development in Washington, 

Gyude Moore: “The Coming Decade of Chinese Dominance in Africa”

China and Africa will increasingly lean into one another in the decade ahead but for starkly different reasons, argues Gyude Moore in a provocative new column published today in African Business Magazine.  Moore, ...

A Visual Comparison of the Issues Address at the Two Sessions Foreign Minister Press Briefing

Africa, the Korean peninsula, and multilateralism are no longer prominent themes in the Foreign Minister’s annual press briefing on the sidelines of the Two Sessions forum in Beijing.  The Chinese state-run media outlet ...

In a Contentious G20 Meeting, Foreign Ministers Exchange Jabs About Jabs

Most of the foreign and development ministers from the Group of 20 gathered in Matera, Italy on Tuesday for the organization’s first in-person meeting since 2019. China and Russia, however, ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP