Trust, modernisation beat geopolitical hurdles

AT A TIME of heightened geopolitical fragility and protectionist policies undermining multilateral cooperation, China has demonstrated its commitment to work with the African continent to advance shared modernisation and prosperity.

- GIDEON CHITANGA

China and South Africa jointly unveiled the Initiative on Cooperation Supporting Modernisation in Africa on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit held in Johannesburg on November 22.

The Initiative demonstrates confidence in Africa despite swelling geopolitical headwinds threatening economic and political stability in the continent.

China has been Africa’s largest trading and development partner for over 16 years. The China-Africa trade volume is massive and growing, reaching around $296 billion in 2024. The fragmented geopolitical order presents major risks to the fragile economies on the African continent.

Divisive external interests and transactional, coercive, and unreliable partnerships threaten much-needed African political and economic unity to drive collective continental growth and modernisation to meet the goals of the Agenda 2063 and the Africa Free Trade Agreement, or African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

According to the African Union (AU) 2025 Africa Integration Report, efforts towards the full realisation of Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA could be hindered by external headwinds, including global protectionism, rising debt, and shrinking development assistance.

The report highlights the structural reforms required to deepen regional and continental integration and to accelerate the objectives of Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA. The AU 2025 Africa Integration Report is a key decision-support tool to monitor and advance Africa's integration agenda.

The report further suggests that the hostile external geopolitical environment could compound intra-continental economic challenges. As highlighted in the State of Africa's Infrastructure Report 2025, Africa faces many challenges ranging from infrastructure bottlenecks, uneven political will, limited statistical capacity, and slow progress towards customs unions and service liberalisation.