China promotes green tech to Africa amid Western curbs

China will push 50 African nations attending the China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Forum later this week to increase their imports of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles and solar panels, before Western export restrictions take effect. The event is scheduled to take place in Beijing from September 4 to 6, 2024.

In exchange, China is offering additional loans and investment pledges. However, African leaders are expected to seek clarity on China’s unfulfilled 2021 promise to purchase $300 billion of African goods and the progress on incomplete infrastructure projects, like a railway linking East Africa.

China, Africa’s largest two-way trade partner, has shifted its focus from funding large infrastructure projects to promoting green technologies.

In 2023, China provided 13 loans totalling $4.2 billion to eight African states and two regional banks, with $500 million allocated to hydropower and solar projects.

As President Xi Jinping opens the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on Thursday, he will highlight opportunities in green energy for countries like Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Despite China’s strategic importance, concerns about debt restructuring in countries like Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia, as well as security issues in regions such as Niger and Kenya, may influence the summit’s outcomes.