China will persuade a conference of 50 African nations in Beijing this week to accept more of its goods before Western export restrictions on electric vehicles and solar panels take effect, in exchange for additional loan and investment guarantees.
This development was echoed by Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project in a statement.
As Western export limitations approach, Beijing’s first objective will be to find consumers for its EVs and solar panels, which the US and EU claim are overcapacity, as well as to establish foreign production sites for emerging markets.
China has already begun to adjust the terms of its loans to Africa, allocating more funds for solar farms, EV plants, and 5G Wi-Fi facilities while reducing spending on bridges, ports, and railways.
As per the report from Reuters, however, the dozens of African leaders expected in the Chinese capital for the three-year event may not be simple to lure.
They will want to see how China intends to achieve an unfulfilled vow from the previous summit in 2021 to purchase $300 billion in commodities.
They will also seek updates on the status of incomplete Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, such as a railway that would connect East Africa.
Leaders from the Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are scheduled to hear President Xi Jinping’s appeal to plug into China’s booming green energy industry when he begins the ninth Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Summit on Thursday.
“The prize is going to go to those countries who have carefully studied the changes in China and align their proposals with China’s new slimmed-down priorities,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.
“That’s a big ask for a continent that generally has very poor China literacy.”
We earlier reported that China, which leads the world in EV sales already, is now aiming to take the lead in the humanoid robot industry and may even surpass Tesla in the race to automate labour forces in factories.
