China in Africa: May 2025
Economic Dealmaking: Multisectoral Chinese-African economic deals were struck by private and public actors alike throughout May. Early in the month, the Libyan-Chinese Joint Economic Chamber announced that China’s Hanzo Motors will establish its first car factory in Benghazi, Libya, in partnership with a group of Libyan entrepreneurs. While on a visit to Shouguang in China’s Shandong Province, the chamber also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Shouguang Huchen Chemical Industry Association. High-level discussions between Chinese and African ministers in Somalia and Kenya focused on boosting tax-free exports of Somalian fish and Kenyan tea to China, respectively. Two deals were signed during a meeting between Ryad Mezzour, Morocco’s minister of industry and trade, and a Chinese delegation led by Ye Jianchun, the governor of Jiangxi Province. The first, signed by China’s Jemincare Pharmaceutical Group and Morocco’s Cooper Pharma, aims to develop innovative therapeutic solutions, enhance industrial capabilities, and promote technology exchange. The second, which involves Jiangxi Geo-engineering and Investment Group and the Bank of Africa, highlights China’s growing interest in the Moroccan market.
In Egypt: Egypt was a focal point of Chinese-African economic engagement in May. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area-Africa (Egypt) Economic and Trade Exchange Conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, which resulted in over thirty agreements between Chinese and Egyptian counterparts valued at more than $1.8 billion, covering sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), infrastructure, green energy, and logistics. Many deals were signed during, or in proximity to, the conference. Waleid Gamal el-Dein, the chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ), signed three new contracts with Chinese companies totaling $80.5 million to establish projects in the Qantara West Industrial Zone. Egypt’s Kasrawy Group signed a $123 million agreement with Chinese automotive manufacturer Jetour to locally assemble Jetour T1 and T2 cars, serving both local and export markets. GAC International, a subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group Group Co., Ltd., also targeted Egypt’s automotive market, striking a deal with Jameel Motors to advance a localized production project to achieve an output value of $80 million and add more than one thousand jobs to the local market. Progress toward localization has also been made in the SCEZ, with the Chinese Xinxing factory for ductile iron pipe production—a 270,500-square-meter factory worth approximately $150 million—set to create another thousand jobs.
On the infrastructure front, a consortium of Chinese banks led by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China reportedly provided 85 percent of the funding for the twenty towers in the central business district of the New Administrative Capital in Egypt. The Egyptian Science and Technology Development Fund and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology announced that they are accepting applications for the first Egypt-China Joint Research Laboratories Programme, an endeavor to bolster long-term scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.
Focused Diplomatic Engagement: Throughout May, Chinese diplomacy in Africa had its eye on the future, with China using its soft power capabilities to further cultivate mutually beneficial relationships.
Trade Cooperation: The Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture signed an MoU with China’s Hanwei Group to strengthen business cooperation. Following a 190 percent surge in Ugandan coffee exports to China in March, the inaugural Uganda-China Coffee Awareness Tour concluded with a meeting to open new pathways for trade and investment in Uganda’s coffee sector, as Uganda’s Head of Mission in Beijing Oliver Wonekha reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to removing trade barriers and improving market access. At ITB China 2025, a three-day travel trade fair held in Shanghai, Egyptian Tourism Authority CEO Ahmed Youssef outlined Egypt’s tourism strategy for the Chinese market, sharing that Chinese arrivals to Egypt grew by 60.7 percent in 2024. Both Algeria and Ethiopia began exploring new opportunities for cooperation with China in the media and communication sectors.
Sports: With the help of two thousand workers from Chad over a five-year period, China’s Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Co. completed the construction of what is now Chad’s largest stadium, the Stade Olympique Marechal Idriss Déby Itno. The thirty-thousand-seat stadium officially opened in Mandjafa, Chad, and can host sports such as basketball, handball, shot put, soccer, tennis, and volleyball.
China-Africa Mining Developments: China’s cobalt mining company CMOC Group, Ltd., the world’s top cobalt mining company, requested that Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lift its current ban on cobalt exports. The ban, imposed in February for four months to manage surpluses as cobalt prices reached nine-year lows, is reportedly set to expire in June. Guinea’s military junta canceled between fifty and one hundred thirty mineral exploration permits at the end of May, potentially disrupting China’s bauxite mining operations, on which its top aluminum producers rely heavily.
The Nigerian government, in contrast, announced plans to launch two major lithium processing plants this year. Dele Alake, Nigeria’s mining minister, disclosed that a $200 million lithium refinery on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, is close to completion; a $600 million lithium processing plant near the Kaduna-Niger state border was slated for commissioning in the second quarter of the year; and two more lithium plants are expected to “come to life” in the state of Nasarawa before the third quarter of 2025. According to Business Insider Africa, more than 80 percent of the four plants’ funding is provided by Chinese companies, including Jiuling Lithium Mining Company and Canmax Technologies, with the remaining stakes belonging to local investor Three Crown Mines.
Sustainability: At a brand launch event in Cotonou, Benin, with the help of local distributor CFAO Group, Chinese new energy vehicle maker BYD Auto Co., Ltd., announced its official entry into the Beninese market. China again showcased its commitment to engaging with Ethiopia, inking $1.7 billion in investment agreements with the country at a two-day investment conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Targeting Ethiopia’s energy and mining industries, notable transactions include Hua Ye Mining Company’s $500 million investment in mineral exploration and processing, a pledge of $600 million from Sequoia Mining and Processing to construct coal mining operations, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology’s plan to build a $360 million solar cell manufacturing factory, and a planned investment of $250 million in solar energy development from CSI Solar. Also in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences signed an MoU to boost agricultural research and biotechnology collaboration. Mid-month, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai disclosed plans to establish EV factories in Nigeria.
Chinese Medical Aid to Africa: On May 18, the twentieth Chinese medical mission to Senegal partnered with the University of Dakar’s Faculty of Medicine and Fann Hospital to address the local shortage of medical resources, in addition to spearheading an academic exchange on the utility of traditional Chinese medicine. In what China’s Ministry of National Defense termed “the largest military medical expert term we have ever sent to Ethiopia,” the eleventh batch of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) departed for the country to complete a yearlong mission supporting the Ethiopian military’s medical services. The team plans to work in tandem with its Ethiopian counterparts to upskill in clinical medicine, medical technology, hospital management, and logistical support.
South-South Military Cooperation: At the end of April, the China-Global South Project reported that Congolese security officials were in talks with state-owned aerospace giant China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation to acquire three new attack drones to better combat March 23 Movement rebels in eastern DRC, though specific details remain unavailable. Around the same time, the Chinese PLA Support Base in Djibouti carried out a four-day joint training exercise with the Djiboutian military termed Cooperation 2025.04.FAD. Among many focuses, the training primarily “exercised strikes after unmanned aerial vehicles reconnaissance and guidance, coordinated shooting of multi-caliber artillery, and the elimination, seizure, punishment, and pursuit of targets,” according to a news release from China’s defense ministry. During Nigerian Minister of State for Defense Bello Matawalle’s visit to China in early May, Nigeria penned an agreement with a Chinese defense company to begin local production of military-grade ammunition. The agreement, which experts suspect includes China North Industries Group Corporation, provides for constructing ammunition production lines, maintaining and upgrading military hardware, servicing of battle tanks, and training for Nigerian defense personnel, as well as supporting military engineering services and technology transfers.
Outliers: Several unrelated events are likely to have broader implications for the United States, China, Africa, and the West.
International Organization for Mediation: On May 30, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Hong Kong with Beninese Foreign Minister Shegun Adjadi, who attended the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed). Benin served as a founding member and one of the first signatories of the IOMed, which aims to “provide a new path for the international dispute settlement mechanism and promote more just and equitable global governance.”
China-Built Kribi Deepwater Port: In 2011, China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) began building a deep-sea port and surrounding infrastructure across twenty-six thousand hectares in Kribi, a town in southern Cameroon. Over a decade later, CHEC completed its mission—the Kribi Deepwater Port, bordering the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest deep-sea port in Central Africa and is designed to facilitate both imports and exports. The $650 million expansion concluded in February and inaugurated on May 9 with the appearance of the MSC Turkiye, the largest container ship in the world. To meet the port transportation and logistics requirements, CHEC also built the Kribi-Lolabe highway, which connects the deep-sea port with major cities nationwide.
Somalia Picks Sides: On Wednesday, April 30, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority officially began blocking Taiwanese passport holders from entering the country, citing the One China principle and UN Resolution 2758. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “strongly protested” the Somali government’s action and “firmly rejected and strongly condemned” its “misinterpretation” of the UN resolution. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, expressed its appreciation for the move and pledged its support for Somalia’s claim to Somaliland.
Potential Reopening of Chinese Embassy in Tripoli: According to the Libyan-Chinese Joint Economic Chamber in a statement at the beginning of May, China is set to reopen its embassy in Tripoli, Libya. The chamber indicated that the decision “signals Beijing’s support for Libya’s stability and its commitment to strengthening political and economic ties between the two countries.”
The Chagos Islands Deal: Despite a previous claim by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that China, in addition to Iran and Russia, opposed the prospect of the United Kingdom ceding the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Chinese Ambassador to Mauritius Huang Shifang said that China “fully supports” the UK’s attempt to “safeguard national sovereignty.” Huang also confirmed that Mauritius would soon join the Belt and Road Initiative, increasing Chinese-Mauritian cooperation in trade, investment, finance, and infrastructure.
