2024’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) takes place against the backdrop of two significant trends. First, the role of the Global South, and debate over whether China should be considered a part of it, has become a more prominent question amidst escalating U.S.-China tensions and an increasingly pronounced North-South split around issues like the conflict in Gaza.
Second, the continent is becoming increasingly cynical about so-called “Africa Plus One” ...
Category: Energy
China Commits $49 Million for Burkina Faso’s Donsin Airport Solar Power Plant
Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament approved a $49 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM) that will help one of the world’s least electrified countries marginally increase its electricity generation. The country’s government officials and CHEXIM signed the concessional loan agreement ...
Chinese Company Expands Footprint in South Africa’s Energy Sector With New Solar Project
One of China’s biggest companies, the Fortune 500-listed PowerChina, is establishing itself among energy sector players seeking to offer solutions to the crippling blackouts predicted to last until 2027 in South Africa. The country is seeking to transition to a greener manufacturing ...
A Chinese-Backed Solar Project in Lesotho Highlights Beijing’s New “Small is Beautiful” Infrastructure Development Strategy in Africa
Some 71 kilometers south of Lesotho’s capital Maseru, the new Mafeteng Solar Power Plant Project generates some 30MW of electricity that could easily power 30,000 homes running household appliances like a fridge, a TV, an electric cooker and a number of lights while also supporting some other activities ...
How Chinese Construction Giant Sinohydro Benefits From Sanctions and Power Shortages in Zimbabwe
Sanctioned and isolated by the West, Zimbabwe’s economy has taken a beating for more than two decades but in that period, a number of Chinese companies have stuck it out and become favorites winning contracts for big-ticket projects. Chinese state-owned Sinohydro ...
Chinese-Funded, Constructed Dams Prioritized in Zimbabwe’s Irrigation and Energy Plan
Zimbabwe is accelerating the construction of 12 large dams to irrigate at least 350,000 hectares by 2025 and generate hydropower while also providing potable water. The acceleration plan is meant to increase land acreage under irrigation with farmers in Zimbabwe expected to ...
Analysis from Cobus Van Staden
Namibia Partners With Chinese Company to Build 50MW Wind Power Plant
Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has signed power purchase and transmission connection agreements for the development of a 50MW wind power project in Lüderitz, southwestern Namibia. CERIM Lüderitz Energy, a joint venture between Riminii Investments and Energy China, will undertake the project ...