Coordinated approach

African nations are prioritizing corridors that promote regional industry and value chains, and achieve coordinated development

Infrastructure is a priority for China-Africa cooperation. The 10 partnership actions between the two sides were proposed at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Among them, according to the Partnership Action for Connectivity, China will support 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, work with African countries to promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, build a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development, support the continent's Free Trade Area construction, deepen logistics and financial cooperation, and help Africa's cross-regional development. This indicates that regional connectivity and cross-regional coordinated development are important directions for China-Africa ties. As a spatial development initiative and carrier of regional integration, the African development corridors are presenting new and important opportunities.

Building development corridors is a key lever and priority agenda for African regional organizations and nations to achieve integration and national transformation. Since the Maputo Corridor was proposed by the Southern African Development Community in 1996, African nations have been committed to regional integration and national growth through spatial development and regional connectivity.

At the 2021 African Union summit, African heads of state decided to adopt an integrated corridor approach. Unlike traditional infrastructure corridors, this approach emphasizes collaborative development across infrastructure, regions, and sectors. It is committed to sustainable growth and development through the construction of "inclusive, sustainable, and world-class infrastructure" proposed in the AU's Agenda 2063.

According to the African Development Corridors Database and the AU's assessment, 79 major development corridors in Africa with 184 projects, accounting for 73 percent of the projects' total, have made substantial progress.

The African development corridors are often key resource corridors, strategic gateways, and regional links, thus playing a significant role in regional cooperation, national development, supply chain security, and global strategic security.

The United States and European countries are utilizing the "Global Gateway" program, Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Just Energy Transition Partnership, and the Minerals Security Partnership, to advance new strategies toward Africa, focusing on the African development corridors, especially key corridors, to advance cooperation with Africa. The 2022 EU-AU summit identified the construction of strategic corridors as a key direction for EU-Africa cooperation, proposing plans for 11 strategic corridors. The US is advancing the construction of the Lobito Corridor, corridors in East Africa, and the US-Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zambia electronic vehicle batteries value chain, with a focus on critical minerals. Japan has launched a 2.0 version of the development corridor paradigm and the "smart corridors "concept, continuing to invest in the Northern Corridor, the Nacala Corridor, and the West Africa Growth Ring.

The US and European countries are increasing their investment in African development corridors, providing new options for African nations. However, it is evident that their actions are driven by their own strategic interests such as geopolitical competition, great power rivalry, and supply chain security. Particularly, they seek to strengthen competition with China and other nations in Africa, emphasizing that their cooperation model is a "better choice" compared to other countries. This not only exaggerates the differences in international cooperation pattern with Africa, but also intensifies the politicization of international development cooperation with Africa.

China is actively promoting the alignment of the BRI with the AU's Agenda 2063, thereby substantially engaging in the construction of the African development corridors and playing an important role in African integration and development transformation.

China has become the largest bilateral official financier of African infrastructure, providing financing for one-fifth of intercontinental and regional infrastructure projects in Africa, and participating in one-third of the projects. Especially in East Africa and Central Africa, the infrastructure financed by China has reached 54.7 percent and 38.5 percent respectively, and its participation in construction projects exceeds one-fourth.

China's financing support for Africa's infrastructure mainly focuses on transportation, energy, electricity, communications. After the BRI was put forward, China has increased its support for Africa's regional connectivity infrastructure. In September, the FOCAC Beijing summit further proposed new ideas and plans for aligning China and Africa's development strategies and boosting cross-regional cooperation, including a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development, alignment and mutual recognition of rules and standards, mutually beneficial cooperation in the whole chain of infrastructure construction, operations, services, and support to the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa's Development to implement connectivity projects in five subregions of Africa. This provides a new direction for cooperation in the China-Africa development corridors.

First, cooperation in the China-Africa development corridors should prioritize strategic planning and coordinated development. China and Africa have carried out many economic activities in infrastructure, trade, investment, industrial development, experience and technology transfer. It should become the core direction of China-Africa development corridor cooperation to integrate these relatively scattered sectors into coordinated and planned cooperation and drive the development corridors to create significant economic and social benefits. The two sides should strengthen the alignment between the Belt and Road cooperation and the AU's Agenda 2063, and take the opportunity of collaborative development corridor cooperation to constantly improve the general coordination and implementation of the plan.

Second, high-quality and high-standards should be the fundamental principles of the China-Africa development corridors cooperation. As a systematic program, the development corridors are not only infrastructure projects, but also a new model that includes the construction of industry chains, value chains, and supply chains. A successful project should drive national development and integration, and high quality and high standards are prerequisites for this goal.

Third, inclusiveness and accessibility should be the core goals of China-Africa development corridors cooperation. The corridor program features cross-regional, cross-industry, cross-cultural, and cross-departmental coordination, and diversity may bring challenges, but it is also the value of the African development corridors. By driving growth along the routes, attracting more diverse participation, and benefiting more people, the development corridors will ultimately contribute to China-Africa partnership and provide new experiences for international development cooperation.

The author is a senior research fellow and deputy director at the Center for West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.