Chinas role in Africas critical minerals landscape: challenges and key opportunities

This policy brief examines China's dominant role in Africa's critical minerals sector, highlighting the tension between increased investment and the lack of local value addition. It argues that while China's infrastructure-led approach and state support provide a competitive edge, African nations must shift from exporting raw materials to developing domestic processing and refining capabilities to avoid the 'resource curse' and benefit from the global energy transition.

• China maintains a dominant position in Africa's mining sector through significant trade volumes and strategic investments. In 2022, trade between China and Africa reached nearly USD 300 billion, which is three times the volume of trade between the US and African countries. Chinese entities have invested USD 4.5 billion in lithium mines and control 15 of the 17 cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Chinese enterprises possess four primary competitive advantages in the African mining industry: lucrative government incentives (such as below-market loans and tax breaks), a strategy of bundling mining contracts with ambitious infrastructure development, the use of 'resource-for-infrastructure' swaps (the 'Angola model'), and a high degree of flexibility in operating across diverse and unstable political climates.
• There is a severe trade imbalance and a lack of value addition in the current mining model. African countries primarily export raw minerals to China, which then processes them for global markets. This export-oriented focus limits local job creation, skill transfers, and economic benefits, while leaving Africa to bear the environmental and public health costs of extraction.
• To maximize benefits from the energy transition, African governments must prioritize domestic processing and refining. This requires addressing critical infrastructure gaps, such as electricity shortages—which have hindered lithium processing in Zimbabwe—and investing in research and development, exemplified by the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Battery Research in the DRC.
• While some African nations have implemented mineral export bans to encourage domestic processing, such as Zimbabwe's ban on lithium ore, these measures are insufficient on their own. They must be accompanied by government incentives, strategic planning, and the development of a trained local workforce to be effective.
• The geopolitical rivalry between China, the US, and the EU provides Africa with leverage to negotiate better terms. Initiatives like the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) and the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package offer opportunities for Africa to attract investments in 'soft' and 'hard' infrastructure and to diversify its partnerships beyond China.

APA

Benabdallah, L. (2024). Chinas role in Africas critical minerals landscape: challenges and key opportunities. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/chinas-role-in-africas-critical-minerals-landscape-challenges-and-key-opportunities

Chicago

Benabdallah, Lina. Chinas role in Africas critical minerals landscape: challenges and key opportunities. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/chinas-role-in-africas-critical-minerals-landscape-challenges-and-key-opportunities.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benabdallah |first1=Lina |title=Chinas role in Africas critical minerals landscape: challenges and key opportunities |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=6 September 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/chinas-role-in-africas-critical-minerals-landscape-challenges-and-key-opportunities |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{benabdallah2024chinas, author = {Benabdallah, Lina}, title = {{Chinas role in Africas critical minerals landscape: challenges and key opportunities}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://afripoli.org/chinas-role-in-africas-critical-minerals-landscape-challenges-and-key-opportunities}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }