Chinese Port-Building Spree Advances Beijing’s Africa Ambitions, Experts Say

Many coastal African countries now host China-linked ports, highlighting the Chinese regime’s growing hold on the continent and its resources.

Senegalese Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr, Senegalese Foreign Minister Yassine Fall, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Luo Zhaohui attend the ministerial conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2024. Tingshu Wang-Pool/Getty Images

China’s initiatives to deepen its economic engagement and influence in Africa are continuing apace, with Beijing celebrating its rapid construction of port facilities along the continent’s coasts at recent diplomatic and trade events.

Observers warn that the growing Chinese presence in Africa—which overlaps closely with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) bankrolled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—furthers the trend of debt entrapment, resource exploitation, and environmental damage for countries on the continent.