China’s Palace Diplomacy in Africa

It is quite shocking how much influence China has gained in the past five decades in dozens of African countries!

"... that since 1966, Chinese companies have built or renovated at least 186 African government buildings, including 24 offices or residences of heads of state. Of the 70 buildings for which I found financing information, the Chinese government or a Chinese company financed all but three, and Beijing partially or fully subsidized the construction costs for at least 45 of the 70 buildings. ...
Certain cheap Chinese products, particularly technology such as smart phones, are hugely popular with African consumers, and Chinese firms have built most of the continent’s 3G and 4G telecoms networks. ...
he Chinese government has allegedly made direct cash payments to heads of state or ruling parties in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia, and Zambia. Chinese companies have reportedly bribed presidents, senior government officials, or their family members in Benin, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. ... Others take the form of expensive gifts: exotic tiling for a dictator’s mansion, a helicopter for a coup leader, a lavish wedding for a prime minister, or new headquarters for ruling parties in Namibia, Zambia, and Sierra Leone ...
Chinese companies are particularly well suited to provide a political boost because they can move quickly, in part because many are willing to forego encumbering environmental impact studies or ignore local labor laws. ...

This charm offensive has helped make Africa one of Beijing’s most dependable sources of support. African states comprised nearly half of the 37 signatories of a 2019 open letter defending China’s human rights abuses of its minority Uighur population. Last year, many African countries supported the Chinese candidate to head the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in a vote he easily won over the U.S. supported aspirant, and cast 30 of the 79 “yes” votes to pass a controversial Russia and China-backed U.N. cyber crime resolution opposed by the United States and many European countries."



China’s Palace Diplomacy in Africa | The Heritage Foundation