"10 Charts to Explain 22 Years of China-Africa Trade, Overseas Development Finance and Foreign Direct Investment" 2 April 2024

...key findings from a new report published by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium highlight that Chinese economic engagement pertaining to energy and transition materials entails support for electrification and extraction...

The types of top commodities extracted and exported reveal insights into some of China’s past priorities in the region. Crude oil exports to China address domestic oil demand in China’s growing economy, while copper, iron and aluminum are inputs into the supply chains of green technologies such as electric vehicle batteries, solar panels and wind energy generation equipment...

Overall, Chinese economic engagement in the energy and transition materials sectors follows two tracks: electrification and extraction...Chinese DFIs and investors are financing power plants, transmission and distribution lines and solar and wind farms that boost energy access in the region. On the other hand, Chinese investors and some DFI finance is serving the purpose of exploring, extracting and then exporting primary energy commodities, minerals and metals back to China...