In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has significantly ramped up its economic engagement in Africa, with a particular focus on securing access to critical mineral resources. According to a Reuters analysis of lending, investment, and trade data, China's flagship Belt and Road Initiative is bouncing back in Africa after a pandemic-induced lull.
Chinese leaders have touted the billions of dollars in new construction projects and record two-way trade as evidence of their commitment to assisting with Africa's modernization and fostering "win-win" cooperation. However, the data reveals a more complex and lopsided relationship, one that continues to be heavily tilted towards the extraction of Africa's raw materials.
While new Chinese investment in Africa increased 114% last year, it was heavily concentrated in the mining sector - securing access to minerals essential for the global energy transition and China's own economic revival. Trade has followed a similar pattern, with Africa's trade deficit with China ballooning as efforts to boost imports of African agricultural products and manufactured goods have faltered.
Chinese sovereign lending, once the main source of financing for African infrastructure, is now at its lowest level in two decades. Public-private partnerships (PPPs), which China has promoted as a new model, have also struggled to gain traction on the continent.
The result is a relationship that some analysts argue contains echoes of the colonial-era economic dynamics between Europe and Africa - one dominated by the extraction of raw materials. China rejects such comparisons, stating that Africa has the "right, capacity and wisdom" to develop its external relations.
However, the data suggests China's engagement remains heavily skewed towards securing access to Africa's mineral wealth to fuel its own economic and industrial priorities. While Chinese investment has grown, it has largely failed to translate into the kind of balanced, "win-win" cooperation that Beijing has promised.
As Western and Gulf powers also race to secure critical minerals for the global energy transition, African leaders face the challenge of leveraging their resources to drive broader economic transformation and development on the continent.
後疫情時期，中國加大非洲投資 - 專注於礦產資源
在COVID-19疫情結束後,中國大幅加大了其在非洲的經濟參與,特別是集中於確保獲得關鍵礦產資源。根據路透社對貸款、投資和貿易數據的分析,中國的旗艦「一帶一路」倡議在疫情期間的停滯之後正在非洲復甦。
中國領導人一直吹噓了數十億美元的新建設項目和創紀錄的雙邊貿易,作為他們協助非洲現代化和培養「互利共贏」合作的承諾的證據。然而,數據顯示這是一個更加複雜和失衡的關係,仍然高度傾斜於提取非洲的原材料。
儘管去年中國在非洲的新投資增加了114%,但它主要集中在採礦業 - 確保獲得對全球能源轉型和中國自身經濟復甦至關重要的礦產。貿易也呈現了類似的模式,隨著提高非洲農產品和製成品進口的努力失敗,非洲對中國的貿易赤字不斷擴大。
曾經是非洲基礎設施融資主要來源的中國主權貸款,如今已降至20年來的最低水平。中國一直宣揚的公私合夥(PPP)模式在非洲也難以獲得進展。
結果是一種關係,一些分析人士認為其中包含著歐洲與非洲之間殖民時期經濟關係的回響 - 即被原材料提取所主導。中國拒絕了這種比較,聲稱非洲有「權利、能力和智慧」來發展其對外關係。
然而,數據顯示中國的參與仍然高度傾斜於確保獲取非洲的礦產財富,以滿足其自身的經濟和工業優先事項。儘管中國投資有所增長,但它很難轉化為北京承諾的那種平衡、「互利共贏」的合作。
隨著西方和海灣國家也在競相確保滿足全球能源轉型所需的關鍵礦產,非洲領導人面臨著利用其資源推動更廣泛的經濟轉型和發展的挑戰。
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