BEIJING: African leaders descend on China's capital this week, seeking funds for infrastructure projects as they eye great power competition over resources and influence on the continent.
China has expanded ties with African nations in the past decade, offering them with billions in loans that have helped build infrastructure.
China has sent hundreds of thousands of workers to Africa to build its megaprojects, while gaining partnership with the continent's vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.
Beijing has said this week's China-Africa forum will be its largest diplomatic event since the Covid-19 pandemic, with leaders of South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and other nations confirmed to attend and dozens of delegations expected.
African countries were "looking to tap the opportunities in China for growth", Ovigwe Eguegu said, a policy analyst at consultancy Development Reimagined.
China is Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $167.8 billion in the first half of this year, according to Chinese state media.
Beijing's loans to African nations last year were their highest in five years, research by the Chinese Loans to Africa Database found.
China has also resisted offering debt relief, even as some African nations have struggled to repay their loans -- in some cases being forced to slash spending on vital public services.
Since the last China-Africa forum six years ago, "the world experienced a lot of changes, including Covid, geopolitical tension and now these economic challenges", Tang Xiaoyang of Beijing's Tsinghua University said.
The continent is a key node in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project and central pillar of Xi Jinping's bid to expand China's clout overseas.
The BRI has channelled much-needed investment to African countries for projects like railways, ports and hydroelectric plants.
Kenya's President William Ruto last year asked China for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete other stalled BRI projects.
In light of such events, Vines and other analysts expect African leaders at this week's forum to seek not only more Chinese investment but also more favourable loans.
In central Africa, Western and Chinese firms are racing to secure access to rare minerals. The continent has rich deposits of manganese, cobalt, nickel and lithium -- crucial for renewable energy technology. — AFP
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