Over the past two decades, Africa has been hailed as the “next frontier of global growth.” From the skyscrapers of Addis Ababa to the modern railways of Nairobi, from Angola’s oil fields to Zambia’s copper mines, the continent’s landscape has changed rapidly.

Much of this transformation, however, has been driven not by African capital but by Chinese investment, loans, and state-backed enterprises.

Yet behind the headline numbers of rising GDP and infrastructure expansion lies a sobering reality: a significant share of Africa’s economic growth is effectively controlled, financed, and shaped by Chinese interests — often at the expense of local ownership, industrial independence, and long-term value creation.

The Mirage of Growth: When GDP Isn’t Ownership

Economic growth figures can be deceptive. When an African country’s GDP rises due to foreign-financed construction or mining activity, it creates an illusion of national prosperity. But if foreign companies own the projects, operate the mines, and repatriate the profits, the actual benefits to the local economy are limited.

This is the case across much of Africa’s “growth story.” While national statistics may show increased output, the real question is: Who controls that output? Who profits from it?

In countries such as Angola, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ethiopia, Chinese firms dominate key sectors — from energy and mining to telecommunications and construction. The result is a form of externalized growth, where Africa provides the resources, labor, and land, while China reaps the technological, financial, and industrial benefits.

The Anatomy of Chinese Control

China’s economic footprint in Africa extends through three interconnected channels: loans and financing, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and trade dependency.

1. Debt and Financing Power

Africa owes more than $170 billion to China, making Beijing the continent’s largest single creditor. This gives China enormous leverage over national economic policies.

Many African countries use Chinese loans to fund infrastructure — railways, airports, roads, and power plants. However, most of these projects are constructed, managed, and supplied by Chinese companies, often using Chinese labor and materials. This means that even as debt increases, much of the borrowed money circulates back to China’s own economy.

For example:

• The Kenya Standard Gauge Railway, built with $5 billion in Chinese loans, is operated by a Chinese firm, with revenues often insufficient to cover even maintenance costs.

• In Ethiopia, Chinese financing built industrial parks and telecom infrastructure, yet Chinese companies hold key operational contracts and technology control.

• Zambia, once Africa’s copper powerhouse, is now so indebted to China that Chinese lenders hold influence over its fiscal priorities, including control of certain mining rights and power distribution deals.

In effect, these loans create a cycle of dependence, where African governments rely on Chinese financing to sustain visible growth but lose control over the mechanisms that generate that growth.

2. Chinese State-Owned Enterprises: Africa’s Hidden Landlords

Over 10,000 Chinese-owned companies now operate in Africa, and about 70% of them are directly or indirectly backed by the Chinese state. These firms dominate the most profitable and strategic industries: construction, mining, energy, and telecommunications.

Chinese SOEs like China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Sinohydro, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) execute megaprojects worth billions.

However, their contracts often include terms that restrict African participation:

• Procurement of Chinese machinery and materials.

• Employment of Chinese technical staff.

• Limited local subcontracting.

While some African workers are hired for basic labor, few are trained in management or engineering roles — meaning knowledge transfer remains minimal. When projects are completed, Chinese firms often retain maintenance contracts, keeping local agencies dependent on them for years or decades.

This creates what some economists call a “neo-mercantilist loop” — where Africa becomes both China’s construction site and raw material source, without developing its own industrial backbone.

3. Trade Imbalance: The Resource-for-Imports Trap

China-Africa trade has grown from $10 billion in 2000 to over $280 billion in 2024. On the surface, this looks impressive. But the structure of that trade reveals a deep imbalance.

Africa exports mostly raw materials — oil, copper, cobalt, timber, and agricultural products — while importing finished goods — electronics, textiles, machinery, and vehicles. This mirrors the colonial-era trade model, where Europe extracted raw materials and sold manufactured goods back to the colonies.

China’s dominance in African markets has crippled local industries:

• Nigeria’s textile sector, once thriving, collapsed under the influx of cheap Chinese fabrics.

• Ghanaian shoemakers and Tanzanian furniture producers have lost market share to low-cost Chinese imports.

• Even small-scale traders now import low-quality goods from China rather than supporting local manufacturers.

This trade pattern creates dependency, not development. Africa remains stuck as a supplier of raw inputs rather than a creator of value — while China captures the profits through processing, manufacturing, and global resale.

Strategic Sectors Under Chinese Control

1. Mining and Resources

China controls a significant share of Africa’s mineral wealth.

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chinese companies control over 70% of cobalt production, a key material for electric vehicle batteries.

• Zimbabwe’s lithium sector is now dominated by Chinese firms, which export raw materials rather than refining them locally.

• In Angola, Chinese oil firms receive repayment in crude oil shipments — effectively controlling a portion of the country’s output.

These resource-for-loan arrangements may keep cash flowing in the short term, but they leave African countries without control over pricing, production, or environmental standards.

2. Telecommunications and Technology

Chinese tech giants like Huawei and ZTE have built Africa’s telecom infrastructure, from 4G networks to data centers. While this has expanded connectivity, it also raises concerns about data sovereignty and surveillance.

Many African governments rely on Chinese systems for national communications, making them vulnerable to external influence.

3. Logistics and Ports

Chinese firms operate or have stakes in over 40 African ports — including Djibouti, Mombasa, and Lagos — critical nodes in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Control of ports and logistics hubs gives China not only economic leverage but also strategic military access, as seen in Djibouti’s dual-use naval facility.

The Displacement of Local Entrepreneurs

While Chinese companies flourish, local African entrepreneurs are often sidelined. Local contractors rarely compete with Chinese SOEs, which have access to massive state subsidies and cheaper credit.

African small businesses cannot match Chinese prices or speed because they lack similar state backing or technology. Moreover, governments often award major tenders directly to Chinese firms through bilateral agreements rather than open competition.

As a result, African entrepreneurs remain trapped at the periphery — doing small-scale services, transport, or retail — while the commanding heights of the economy remain foreign-controlled.

The Long-Term Costs: Dependency Over Development

The Chinese model has helped Africa build infrastructure quickly, but it has done little to build capacity. Economic sovereignty is being traded for visible but shallow growth.

When profits, decision-making, and expertise all flow abroad, GDP growth becomes a mirage of prosperity. The continent risks repeating the colonial cycle — exporting raw wealth while importing dependency.

Moreover, debt servicing consumes huge portions of national budgets, crowding out spending on education, healthcare, and local industry. Without structural change, Africa may end up growing poorer beneath the surface of apparent progress.

Reclaiming True Growth Through Ownership

If Africa is to transform this dynamic, several shifts are essential:

1. Industrial Policy and Local Content Laws:
   Governments must enforce strong local ownership and value-addition rules. Projects should mandate technology transfer, training, and majority African participation.

2. Regional Integration and Collective Bargaining:
   Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), nations can negotiate better terms collectively, reducing vulnerability to bilateral exploitation.

3. Investment in Human Capital:
   Education, technical training, and entrepreneurship development must take priority over prestige projects. Africa’s true wealth lies in skilled citizens, not borrowed capital.

4. Transparency and Accountability:
   All foreign contracts should be public, debated, and monitored. Secrecy breeds corruption and weakens sovereignty.

Growth Without Ownership Is a Mirage

Africa’s economic growth narrative shines brightly in global headlines, but beneath it lies a troubling truth — too much of the continent’s progress is under foreign, especially Chinese, control.

The cranes, rails, and highways symbolize movement, yet much of that movement is directed by external interests. GDP may rise, but true wealth — ownership, decision-making, and innovation — remains exported.

Until Africa builds an economy rooted in local ownership, industrial capacity, and regional self-reliance, the so-called “growth” will remain a façade — a reflection of other nations’ ambitions more than Africa’s own.

It is time for Africa to redefine growth not by borrowed capital or imported technology, but by sovereign empowerment — growth that Africans design, own, and benefit from, in every sense of the word.