China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is on a week-long trip to visit four countries in Africa, at a time of growing tensions between Beijing and the European Union, and an uncertain future for China-US relations on the eve of the second Trump presidency.
Maintaining a 35-year tradition which sees China's top diplomat visit Africa on the first overseas trip of the year, Wang Yi – who is also a member of the all-powerful Standing Committee of China's Communist Party – will this week visit Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.
"This is a pillar of the relationship between China and Africa," said Eric Olander, CEO of the China-Global South Project, an NGO which monitors China's relations with the African continent. "It is surprising that other countries like the United States, France, the UK, and others have not emulated this tradition, because it's so easy and it is so effective."
Currently, China is at loggerheads with the European Union. After Brussels imposed high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Beijing took measures to restrict the activities of foreign car makers in China, hitting EU car giants such as Volkswagen, which have massive joint-venture operations in the country.
US tariffs
Beijing is also anxiously awaiting the upcoming second US presidency of Donald Trump.
The US has imposed 100 percent tariffs on some Chinese products, while Trump fulminates against US companies that have outsourced their operations to the country, criticising the massive China-US trade deficit and claiming repeatedly that China is "ripping off" the US.
African relations may help ease China's worries. "China's relationship with Nigeria is pivotal," says Olander. The latter competes with South Africa for the position of Africa's biggest economy.
"Nigeria is a 200 million plus super-market, like Brazil and Indonesia," Olander added. "They are going to be increasingly important for China as they get shut out of the US and Europe, as well as Japan and the G7 markets."
Nuclear energy
Namibia too is interesting for China, as a source of uranium, which is essential to feeding China's growing nuclear energy industry.
"China has made climate commitments, and it is going to be very difficult for them to meet those without nuclear energy," explained Olander.
Beijing's Africa trips, however, are primarily based on continental geography, rather than targeting specific countries.
"If they went to the east last time, they will focus more on the west this time. There is always the idea to have a mix of large and small countries. They also make sure that they visit as many countries as possible over the course of the years. Chad hasn't come up before, so they went there," Olander told RFI.
The Chinese went in there and said 'listen, we are not telling you what to do, we just want to make sure that our investments are stable.'
REMARKS by Eric Olander
Political support
While the focus is off the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative – a Chinese infrastructure project that aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through land and sea routes – due to China's internal economic problems, over the past 10 years Beijing has looked more to Africa for political support, according to Olander.
"Africa, more than any other region in the world, votes as a bloc in the United Nations," he said. "African countries have been very enthusiastic supporters of China's new alternative international governance architecture, the Global Civilization Initiative, the Global Defence Initiative and the Global Development Initiative."
In addition, most African countries support China in major international forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council. They have signed up alongside China on sensitive issues including the autonomous region of Xinjiang and disputes over the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet.
Mutual interest
"It is consistency, building up a long-term relationship, which is what the Chinese have always insisted on," said Michael Dillon, a history professor affiliated with the Lau China Institute at King's College London.
"The Africans don't like people who come in and make promises and then go out again. They want people who are prepared to take the rough with the smooth and to accept that a long-term relationship is the only way of developing mutual interest."
This is in contrast to the old model under colonial powers such as the UK and France. Wang's visit includes former French colonies the Republic of Congo and Chad, with the Chinese targeting countries where they perceive the West is pulling out.
"France is having particular difficulty maintaining a presence" in Africa, said Dillon. "It is moving its military out of Chad. And [China is] looking to be targeting the Francophone African areas, and they will want to be able to push out European sales."
But China will not send its troops to Africa, unless it is under the auspices of the UN. During his visit, Wang Yi announced military aid to Nigeria, but this will not involve sending troops.
"You will never see Chinese troops replace French or American troops in the Sahel," said Olander. "But first and foremost, we can expect a pretty robust diplomatic presence and engagement, the continuation of Chinese financial engagement with many of the West African countries."
Beijing deftly handled the political transition in Guinea and Niger, while Western powers had issues with the new governments.
According to Olander: "The Chinese went in there and they said, we're not interested in telling you what to do. We just want to make sure that our investments stay stable, and also that Chinese nationals in the country are not targeted for attack.
"And for the most part, the different junta leaders across the Sahel said, if you stay out of our business, we'll stay out of yours. And that's what's happened. And it allowed the Chinese a certain level of continuity in the Sahel that the Europeans and the Americans have not had."
Disruption versus stability
Meanwhile, Russian influence has been growing in several African countries from which Western – predominantly French – forces are departing, with Russian state-funded private military company the Wagner Group taking a prominent position in their place.
But Western fears about a possible association between Russia and China in Africa are misplaced, according to Olander.
"In many respects Russia is a disruptive power in Africa and elsewhere," he said. "That does not benefit the Chinese in places like Africa. China prefers stability. China wants to do business and trade."
"China does support Russia when it comes to challenging the Western-led international system," Olander said, adding that Chinese interests are not served by the disruption caused by the Wagner Group or by Russian disinformation campaigns.
"Russia's presence in Africa is quite minimal. Their main exports are oil and minerals. You're not going to sell oil and minerals to Africa. Russia wants to sell nuclear power stations, weapons, but for the most part, Russian economic engagement is a mere fraction of [that of] the Chinese."
