build ports as if there were no tomorrow

World geopolitics has been a hornet’s nest since Donald Trump came to the White House for the second time and one of its most strained relations is with China: tariff war It has had its ups and downs and the rest of the world was in the middle. While the United States tightened the screws, China has deployed an alternative based on one hand on its commercial skills and diplomacy and on the other, on its impressive technical and technological muscle. And for example, an entire continent: Africa.

The context. China has its Belt and Road Initiativewhich reflects that ports constitute one of the pillars of “Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century“. Ports are not mere infrastructure, but nodes in a global network. In the face of MAGA’s “America First” policy and tariff pressure, Africa is tempted to look for other partners, how it goes deeper the expert in geopolitics and international economics Michael von Liechtenstein.

And in fact, they are already doing it: Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, matches its Chinese counterpart confirming that what both countries have is a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” The former president of Senegal, Macky Sall (left office in 2024), also asserted that China is the only partner with the speed necessary to remedy its infrastructure deficit.

Why is it important. China has achieved get their hands on one in three commercial ports of the continent, showing that there is life beyond whoever lives in the White House and that the keys to global trade are still in his pocket. With its full or partial participation, China not only moves containers, it controls what comes in, what goes out, how long it takes and what technology is used.

What China wins and what Africa wins. African presidents have already said loud and clear that China is the one who can get them out of this infrastructure deficit on the fast track, but it is also no longer a mere builder: it matters in a comprehensive development model with industrial parks, transport infrastructure such as railways and highways and free trade zones. And all this without giving political lessons, thanks to the Beijing Consensus.

Africa is not only in a key passage area, it is also the mine of the world and China is thus ensuring that these raw materials reach their factories without the interference of third parties. With zero tariffs and port control, China becomes the perfect partner for anyone, including the United States.

China’s port expansion in Africa. Africa Center

One in three African ports speaks Chinese. China has already announced that will follow the zero tariff policy for 53 countries in Africa, which will surely come in handy to take advantage of its logistical dominance there. Of the 231 ports across the continent, Chinese state-owned companies actively participate in 78 from 32 countries, either because they have built it directly or, indirectly, have financed it or have participations. Besides, It has 10 fully operating concessions. And they are not just any ports. This figure is significantly higher than anywhere else in the world: Latin America and the Caribbean “only” have 10 ports operated or built by China, according to data from this 2020 study published in Science Direct.

China, for its part, has gone from being the partner that lends money to becoming the one that manages the infrastructure, something that was already warned in its five-year plan from 2021 to 2025which includes six corridors, three of which cross Africa: reaching Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, Egypt and the Suez region, and Tunisia.

The key ports. China is conquering the choke points: its strategy is not to build hundreds of small ports, but to control the most critical enclaves on the continent:

• Djibouti is the strategic node in the Horn of Africa and opens the doors to control of the Red Sea.
• Mombasa and Lamu in Kenya as a gateway to the east of the continent.
• Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the connection to the Zambian Copperbelt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Lagos in Nigeria and its presence on the western coast to advance towards the Atlantic.

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Cover | 中国新闻社 and Rosy Ko