China-Africa trade reached a record $275 billion in 2024, but beneath the headline figures lies a shift in the balance of power. While Africa continues to export mostly raw materials and import large volumes of Chinese-manufactured goods, China has become increasingly dependent on African minerals essential to its clean-energy ambitions. African countries supply over 80% of China’s chromium and manganese imports, while countries such as Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe provide several other minerals critical to clean-energy technologies. As a result, African governments now have greater leverage to negotiate local processing and industrial investment that benefits them. At the same time, China’s era of large-scale infrastructure lending is fading, with many African countries now repaying more to Chinese creditors than they receive in fresh financing. Consequently, African governments must translate mineral leverage into manufacturing investment without allowing debt burdens to undercut long-term economic ambitions.
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