China’s engagement in Africa in the modern era is undergoing an important transition as the central government in Beijing, once the exclusive driver of this relationship, is stepping back to cede more space to provincial, municipal, and other so-called “sub-national actors” to facilitate trade and pioneer new policy innovations. The growing diversity of Chinese stakeholders in Africa, especially from some of China’s provinces, is a trend that’s been developing for several years now but still remains poorly understood by most outside observers.
CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema recently spoke with Editor-in-Chief Eric Olander to provide some background on what’s prompting this change and which provinces are the most important to follow:
GERAUD NEEMA: How do you explain the increasingly important role that Chinese provinces now play in China’s engagement in Africa?
ERIC OLANDER: When most people think of “China” in Africa, they tend to think of the Chinese central government in Beijing and the country’s large state-owned enterprises. While that was largely true in the initial stages of China’s engagement in Africa back in the early 2000s, that is not the case at all anymore.
More and more, the central government is stepping back to make room for so-called sub-national actors like private companies, major cities, and, most importantly provincial governments. We’ve seen this trend accelerate in the wake of last year’s FOCAC conference in Dakar where the Chinese side made a concerted effort to change the narrative away from the state-led development finance story that’s been at the center of the relationship to one that is based more on trade among a larger group of stakeholders.
In 2023, this trend is only going to become more important but the problem is that very few people outside of China seem to really understand the distinctions among all of the new players in the China-Africa space. There’s a critical lack of knowledge about these new actors and what each is doing in Africa. The days of thinking of “China” as a singular entity are over.
GERAUD: Which Chinese provinces are the most significant in this strategy and why?
ERIC: HUNAN: located in south-central China, Hunan is emerging as the most dynamic and ambitious of the Chinese provinces that are now active in Africa.
3 THINGS TO KNOW:
- The capital Changsha is home to one of the largest China-Africa trade fairs.
- Changsha is part of the new air bridge with Addis Ababa that is bringing in tons of African agriculture.
- Hunan universities have a long history of conducting African agricultural research.
ZHEJIANG: located on China’s affluent eastern seaboard, Zhejiang is home to a thriving African diaspora community and is one of the country’s leading industrial/tech centers.
3 THINGS TO KNOW:
- The capital Hangzhou is the home city for Alibaba and other tech companies that are now expanding their presence in Africa.
- A large amount of the cobalt and other strategic resources mined in Africa that are now critical for electric vehicles are all processed in Zhejiang.
- The city of Yiwu is home to the second-largest African diaspora community in China and is also a major African trade hub.
Other provinces that are becoming increasingly active in Africa:
- Shandong Province: a gritty industrial region in northern China that is known for steelmaking and auto manufacturing. Last year the province held its 4th trade fair in Kenya that promoted the province’s tech, medical and construction companies.
- Guangdong Province: this is the primary African trading hub in China due to its heavy concentration of telecom manufacturing (Transsion and Huawei both have HQs here) and low-cost products like apparel and footwear that are made in Guangdong. The capital Guangzhou is also home to the largest African diaspora population in China and all of Asia.
- Hainan Island: This large island located near Southeast Asia is positioning itself as a key free-trade port with a new direct shipping route that goes to Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
- Chongqing: Located in southwest China, Chongqing is a megacity with a population of 30+ million that is also a key auto and high-tech manufacturing hub. Chongqing is a major consumer of African cobalt and other raw materials needed to produce cars and computers.
GERAUD: What should African countries look to gain with these provinces? That is, what is it that they’re not getting from China’s central government which can now be obtained with and through provincial governments?
ERIC: If African countries want to ensure that the steadily rising Chinese trade volumes and FDI remain on course, then they are going to have to become more sophisticated about these sub-national actors. They just don’t have a choice because the priorities of the central government have changed. The economic reality is that the country’s two main policy banks that financed tens of billions of dollars of African infrastructure development are no longer interested in financing large-scale projects. Things have also changed politically with Beijing now focusing more attention on its near-abroad in Central and Southeast Asia and less on far-away regions in places like Africa.
To be clear, there’s still going to be a lot of Chinese engagement in Africa, it’s just going to be done by a much more diverse range of actors.
