Since the early 2000s, China has established itself as one of Africa’s major economic partners. Chinese investments have multiplied in numerous countries, particularly in the infrastructure, energy, and transportation sectors. This growing presence has given rise to both hopes and debates.

On the one hand, these investments have enabled the completion of numerous major infrastructure projects. Roads, bridges, dams, and railways have been built or modernized thanks to Chinese funding. These projects contribute to improving connectivity between regions, supporting economic activity, and accelerating the implementation of strategic projects. Furthermore, they can generate local jobs and offer African governments faster access to financing than that offered by some traditional partners.

However, this cooperation is also subject to criticism. Several observers point to the high level of debt owed by some African countries to China. Others highlight the limited transfer of skills to local workers, as well as contracts that are sometimes considered opaque. Finally, some fear that these investments primarily favor the exploitation of raw materials at the expense of genuine local economic transformation.

The crucial question, therefore, is not simply whether these investments benefit Africa, but rather how African countries can maximize their impact. By negotiating more balanced partnerships and directing investments toward sustainable development, African states can transform this cooperation into a genuine driver of growth. Chinese investments represent a real opportunity, provided that African interests are fully protected.

The manufacturing processing industry has always been the poor relation of the African economy. Since capital accumulation was lacking—as the continent saw its resources used for European accumulation but not for its own—the manufacturing industry never really got going. Worse still, over the decades from the 1990s to 2010, the share of manufacturing activity in the value-added produced continued to decline, from 13% in 1990 to 10% in 2011.

However, some countries have succeeded—starting from a situation of mining or agricultural income—in developing significant processing sectors, generating more added value: Ivory Coast with fish and wood processing, Senegal with fish processing, Botswana, which is rich in diamonds, with meat processing, animal skin treatment, animal feed, etc., Mauritius with the textile industry, and Tunisia, where industry represents 30% of its GDP. Special attention should be paid to the economic giant of South Africa, which alone represents between 20% and 30% of the continental GDP and has a diversified industry that employs nearly a quarter of the working population and represents nearly 30% of its GDP.

Deindustrialization may not be inevitable, however, because, in the absence of local accumulation, capital could come from abroad. Foreign direct investment, which began increasing in Africa at the beginning of the 21st century, particularly from China, is more diversified than before. It is now less focused on the primary sector (agriculture and extractive industries) and more on manufacturing. For example, since 2008, the main investor in Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector has been China, and in Rwanda, Chinese FDI has targeted processing activities after the tertiary sector.

For now, however, manufacturing is largely at a “standstill,” as the World Economic Forum put it in 2015.

For more information :

• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portail:Afrique
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa
• https://africacenter.org/
• https://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/
• https://etudes-africaines.cnrs.fr/
• https://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/
• https://www.afdb.org/fr/documents-publications/economic-perspectives-en-afrique-2024