Xi offers more aid to Africa as China challenges US-led global order

BEIJING, China: Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged billions of dollars in loans and private investment to African leaders in a bid to deepen China’s influence and challenge the U.S.-led global order.

At the Beijing summit, Xi underscored China’s commitment to strengthening relations with Africa, promising to upgrade ties with African countries to a “strategic” level.

“We stand together to defend our legitimate rights and interests,” Xi said at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, signaling a united front against Western domination. China has been a key player in Africa since the forum’s inception in 2000, investing heavily in the continent’s infrastructure and resources through the Belt and Road Initiative.

While African leaders have welcomed China’s financial support, they are pushing to reprioritize aid to be more closely linked to Africa’s development priorities.

Many African countries are seeking to industrialise their economies and reduce their trade deficit with China by increasing agricultural exports and diversifying investments beyond traditional sectors such as mining and energy.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, stressed the need for more diversified investments to help Africa achieve its industrialization goals. “Private investments should go beyond mining and energy resources,” he said.

Xi unveiled 10 new partnership initiatives, including vocational and technical training, green energy projects and military aid grants. He also announced China’s intention to eliminate tariffs on products from the world’s poorest countries, including 33 African nations. The move builds on existing trade exemptions and aims to boost African exports to China.

Relations between China and Africa have expanded beyond trade and investment to include political and military cooperation.

“Modernization is the inalienable right of all countries,” Xi said. “But the Western approach to modernization has brought enormous suffering to developing countries. Since the end of World War II, Third World countries, represented by China and African countries, have gained independence and sought to correct the historical injustices of the modernization process.”

China now trains more professional soldiers in Africa than any other country, and its leadership training programs are forging lasting ties with future generations of African politicians.

China’s efforts to position itself as a leader in the Global South are resonating with many African countries frustrated with the Western-led international order. Several African countries have adopted a non-aligned stance on global issues such as the war in Ukraine, underscoring their growing political alignment with China.

Xi’s promises of financial aid come after China’s development loans to Africa have fallen since a peak in 2016. But they are expected to rise slightly in 2022.

Still, many African countries are struggling financially due to high levels of debt, prompting calls for reforms to the global financial system. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of the risk of civil unrest if these issues are not addressed.

“This situation is unsustainable and a recipe for social unrest,” he said, stressing the need for deep reform of the “outdated, inefficient and unfair international financial system.”