China’s embassies across Africa are coordinating both public and private donations to local stakeholders battling the spread of COVID-19. The donations appear to be part of a larger Chinese strategy to raise Beijing’s profile as a leading provider of humanitarian assistance, particularly to lesser developed countries.

In the case of Angola and Zimbabwe, the Chinese embassies seem to have played the role of coordinator between local Chinese business associations and the host government and then leveraged the embassy’s social media channels to showcase the donation.