China’s top diplomat heads to key strategic points in Africa
BEIJING — China’s top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Wednesday with a focus on the strategically vital east, as the world’s No. 2 economy moves to reinforce its influence along key trade corridors and showcase its market access offers to poorer nations.
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Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho, a circuit that touches the Red Sea gateway, mineral supply lines and countries targeted by Beijing’s recent tariff-free initiative.
The stop in Somalia — the first by a Chinese foreign minister since the 1980s — comes weeks after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the breakaway Republic of North Western State of Somalia, a northern region that declared independence in 1991. Beijing, which reiterated support for Somalia after the Israeli announcement, is keen to buttress its position around the Gulf of Aden, the entry to the Red Sea and a crucial corridor for Chinese trade transiting the Suez Canal to European markets.
Further south, Wang’s visit to Tanzania highlights China’s bid to secure access to Africa’s vast copper deposits. Chinese firms are refurbishing the Tazara Railway that runs through the country into Zambia, a project tied to long-term supply resilience for energy transition metals. The push follows a landmark trip by Premier Li Qiang to Zambia in November, the first by a Chinese premier in 28 years.
The Tazara upgrade is widely seen as a counterweight to the U.S. and European Union-backed Lobito Corridor, which connects Zambia to Atlantic ports via Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By investing across east-to-west and south-to-Atlantic routes, Beijing is positioning its logistics footprint alongside rival initiatives aimed at speeding critical minerals to global markets.
Wang’s final stop in Lesotho underscores China’s effort to cast itself as a champion of free trade. Last year, Beijing offered tariff-free market access to its $19 trillion economy for the world’s poorest nations, delivering on a pledge made by President Xi Jinping at the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing. Lesotho — with a gross domestic product just over $2 billion — was among the countries hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year, facing duties of up to 50% on exports to the United States.
China’s Africa itinerary this week:
- Ethiopia
- Somalia — first Chinese foreign minister visit since the 1980s; focus on the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea access
- Tanzania — Tazara Railway refurbishment tied to copper supply routes into Zambia
- Lesotho — emphasis on tariff-free access for the poorest economies
The trip underscores Beijing’s dual-track strategy: securing maritime chokepoints essential to its trade while deepening overland connections that compete with Western-backed corridors. It also showcases China’s tariff waivers as a soft-power complement to hard infrastructure, especially in smaller economies that have struggled with elevated export duties.
With stops spanning the Horn of Africa to southern Africa, the tour places China at the center of several overlapping priorities — Red Sea stability, critical minerals, and market access — that will shape competition on the continent this year. Wang’s presence signals continuity in Beijing’s Africa policy: annual high-level outreach, heavy investment in transport links and an appeal to lower-income countries through preferential trade terms.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
