New Trends of African Development Corridors Construction and New Direction for China-Africa Cooperation

Regional integration is the core strategy of Africa in pursuing self-strength through unity and seeking independent development， while building development corridors is an important strategic means for realizing the integration and development of Africa. Starting from the Maputo Corridor proposed by the Southern African Development Community in 1996， African countries have been committed to promoting regional integration and national development through spatial development and regional connectivity. The transition from version 1.0 of building infrastructure corridors to version 2.0 of building synergistic composite development corridors is the core feature of the current evolution of Africa’s development corridors. China， by building large-scale connectivity infrastructure and engaging in institutionalized cooperation with regional organizations such as the African Union （AU）， has played an active role in the construction of development corridors in the African region. Having said that， African development corridors are facing transformation and the major countries are increasing their input on the construction of the corridors. Under the new circumstances， how to further consolidate and enhance China-Africa cooperation in development corridors and regional integration has become an important topic for China-Africa cooperation.

New Trends of African Development Corridors Construction

African countries are active advocates of regional integration and development corridors. In 1996， the South African government promoted the Maputo Development Corridor project in light of the philosophy of building economic corridors， which was later accepted by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development （NEPAD） and widely promoted in Africa. In 2012， African leaders decided to implement the Plan for Infrastructure Development in Africa （PIDA） as a strategic framework for the continent’s infrastructure development until 2040. In recent years， with the changes in development needs of African countries and international development cooperation with Africa， the construction of African development corridors is showing new trends.

First， structural changes are taking place in the concept， objectives and construction methods of African development corridors. The concept of building African development corridors is shifting from relatively single and primary project construction to the construction of more complex and diversified economic and development corridors. The 51 cross-border projects developed under the first phase of AU PIDA Priority Action Plan focus primarily on regional infrastructure development. However， at the 2021 AU Summit， African leaders decided to adopt the Integrated Corridor Approach， known as Development Corridors 2.0， for the second phase of the PIDA Priority Action Plan. Unlike traditional infrastructure corridors， the Integrated Corridor Approach emphasizes cross-infrastructure， cross-regional and cross-sectoral coordinated development， and aims to achieve truly sustainable development through the building of “inclusive， sustainable and world-class infrastructure”， as set out in the AU’s Agenda 2063. The goal of building development corridors in Africa has shifted from improving infrastructure to building a pattern of inclusive， sustainable and composite development. African countries are no longer satisfied with solely developing infrastructure， but seek to maximize the value of inclusive infrastructure and fundamentally promote national development by building a diversified， three-dimensional and participatory development pattern. The construction of regional development corridors is more dependent on the participation of diversified international development partners， institutionalized coordination across different levels and sectors， public sector reform and private sector participation. Whereas infrastructure development in Africa has traditionally been largely monopolized by governments and the public sector， building development corridors means that governments must allow and encourage wider participation by the private sector， both domestic and overseas. As a result， the construction of development corridors in Africa is in fact driving the need for African countries to build a diversified and open network of international development partnerships as well as an inclusive and coordinated approach to national development. It is therefore difficult to adapt to the current realities of building development corridors in Africa by relying solely on the relationship with African governments and the public sector.

Second， the outcomes and impact of African development corridors are being continuously enhanced. The strategic concept of Africa’s development corridors runs through the AU Infrastructure Master Plan， PIDA， the NEPAD Africa Action Plan （NEPAD-AAP）， the AU’s Agenda 2063， as well as the regional infrastructure development master plans of the African Economic Community and African governments. It has been noted by some scholars that “African development corridors will be the dreamland of African modernization.” Over the past three decades， the construction of the African development corridors has borne fruit. According to the AU’s assessment， among the PIDA Phase I projects， 67 are operational， 65 are under construction， 26 are in the bidding stage， 15 have completed financing， and 23 are undergoing the process of creating commercial and technical architectures. Overall speaking， 73% of the projects have moved from conceptualization to making substantial progress. African development corridors are also a key focus of support for the African Development Bank， which， as of 2022， has provided $13.5 billion in financing support for 25 transport corridors， more than 18，000 kilometers of roads， 27 one-stop border crossings and 16 bridges.

Third， African development corridors are becoming an important fulcrum for levering the major countries’ relations with Africa. In recent years， the United States， Europe and Japan have increased their attention to and investment in African development corridors. Western powers like the United States and the EU are utilizing the Global Gateway， the Global Infrastructure Investment Partnership， the Global Energy Transformation Partnership， and the Mineral Security Partnership to push forward new strategies towards Africa. They focus on African development corridors， especially key corridors， to promote their cooperation with Africa. The EU proposed the Europe-Africa Global Gateway Investment Program at the 2022 EU-AU Summit， where the construction of strategic corridors was identified as one of the key directions of Europe-Africa cooperation， and 11 strategic corridors were initially agreed upon. The United States and the EU signed an MoU to jointly support the construction of the Lobito Corridor. The EU has made the EU-Namibia strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen a flagship project of the Global Gateway， while the United States is promoting the construction of the East Africa Corridor in Tanzania with key minerals as a focus. Japan launched the African Development Corridor Model after the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 2013， followed by the 2.0 version of the Development Corridor Model， and put forward the concept of “Smart Corridor”. Behind the increased investment of Western countries in the African development corridors is the consideration of their own strategic interests， such as geopolitics， major country competition and supply chain security. They emphasize that their mode of cooperation is a “better choice” than that of other countries， and attach policy related conditions such as political and economic reforms to their cooperation， which in fact creates differences in the modes of international cooperation with Africa， thus affecting the coordination and cooperation of the international community in the construction of African development corridors.

China’s Role and Contribution in the Construction of African Development Corridors

Supporting Africa’s infrastructure development has always been a key area of China-Africa cooperation. Through assistance， financing， technical support and international engineering contracting， China-Africa infrastructure cooperation has played an important role in promoting Africa’s infrastructure development. Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， China has further increased its support for Africa’s regional connectivity infrastructure， and has made significant contribution to Africa’s integration and the construction of development corridors in terms of strategic planning， policy support and practical cooperation.

I.Promoting Coordination with Africa’s Integration and Development Corridor Strategies.

Supporting Africa’s integration and regional cooperation through regional infrastructure connectivity is an important direction of China-Africa cooperation. In 2012， the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation （FOCAC） adopted the Beijing Action Plan （2013-2015）， which clearly states that in order to support Africa in realizing connectivity and integration， and to enable Africa to have more integrated infrastructures， China will establish a partnership with the AU in the areas of project design， inspection， financing and management for PIDA and Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative （PICI）. The Chinese government will continue to encourage competent Chinese enterprises and financial institutions to participate in cross-border and cross-regional infrastructure construction in Africa， and will continue to provide preferential loans in support of Africa’s infrastructure construction.

With the steady implementation of the BRI， China-Africa cooperation in cross-regional infrastructure development has further accelerated. 2015 saw the signing of a MoU between China and the AU on China-Africa cooperation on infrastructure development， which states that within the strategic framework of the AU’s Agenda 2063， China will strengthen cooperation with African countries in the areas of railroads， highways， regional aviation and industrialization， and promote the integration process of African countries. In the same year， the FOCAC Johannesburg Action Plan （2016-2018） explicitly states that China will support African countries and flagship projects in Africa， especially the PIDA and the PICI. In December 2020， in order to effectively promote the dovetailing of the BRI with the AU’s Agenda 2063， China and the AU Commission signed the Cooperation Plan on Jointly Promoting the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road between the Government of the PRC and the African Union， the first cooperation document on the planning of Belt and Road cooperation signed by China and a regional organization. At the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2024， President Xi Jinping announced ten partnership actions for China and Africa to work together to advance modernization. In terms of the Partnership Action for Connectivity， China is prepared to carry out 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa， promote together high-quality Belt and Road cooperation， and put in place a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development. China is ready to assist in the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area， and deepen logistics and financial cooperation for the benefit of trans-regional development in Africa. President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of the MoU on the Tanzanian Railway Activation Project， and when meeting with Tanzanian President Samia Hassan， he said China is willing to take this summit as an opportunity to push forward new progress in activating Tanzania-Zambia Railway， improve the rail-sea transportation network of East Africa through cooperation， and make Tanzania a demonstration zone for deepening the high-quality China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation. The Belt and Road cooperation， especially the regional infrastructure connectivity cooperation， has been widely recognized by African countries. Experts from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa （UNECA） believe that it is an important manifestation of the new “win-win” cooperation between China and Africa， and Africa should make full use of the strategic opportunities brought about by the BRI， strengthen strategic design and planning， and give full play to its important role in promoting African integration and the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

II.Providing Strong Financing Support for the Construction of African Development Corridors.

Providing financing support for Africa’s infrastructure development is an important manifestation of China-Africa practical cooperation. According to the white paper China and Africa in the New Era， from 2016 to 2020， total investment in infrastructure projects in Africa reached almost $200 billion. Projects implemented by Chinese companies accounted for 31.4 percent of all infrastructure projects on the African continent in 2020. Since the founding of FOCAC， Chinese companies have utilized various funds to help African countries build and upgrade more than 10，000 km of railways， nearly 100，000 km of highways， nearly 1，000 bridges and 100 ports， and 66，000 km of power transmission and distribution lines. They have also helped build an installed power-generating capacity of 120 million kW， a communications backbone network of 150，000 km and a network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals. The projects of the African development corridors and the infrastructure plan for Africa are mainly concentrated in the fields of transportation， energy， power， and communications， and China’s infrastructure financing support for Africa over the past 20 years has also flowed mainly to these fields. Therefore China’s infrastructure financing support to Africa has truly met the needs of African integration and development corridors construction. According to statistics， in the more than two decades since the 21st century， China has become the largest single financier of Africa’s infrastructure， financing one-fifth of Africa’s intercontinental and regional infrastructure projects and participating in the construction of one-third of them， especially in East and Central Africa， where the share of infrastructure financing provided by China has reached 54.7% and 38.5% respectively， and the share of its participation in the construction projects has both exceeded one quarter. According to the Global Development Policy Center， from 2008-2021， China’s development finance institutions have provided $123 billion in financing to Africa， while Chinese commercial banks and other institutions have provided $30 billion. Many key projects in Africa’s development corridors have been financed and constructed by China， such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway， the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway， the Abuja-Kaduna Railway， the Benguela Railway， the New Luanda Airport in Angola， the Greenfield Terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya， the Victoria Falls Airport Expansion Project in Zimbabwe， and so on.

III.Providing Strong Impetus to Africa’s Development Through Development Corridor Cooperation.

Infrastructure is a fundamental prerequisite and a key driver of economic and social development and transformation in Africa. The World Bank estimates that if the infrastructure gap （in terms of quantity and quality） in sub-Saharan Africa were to be narrowed to the median for developing countries， it would help the region’s per capita GDP grow by 1.7 percentage points per year. China-Africa infrastructure cooperation focuses on areas that are productive and capable of generating significant economic benefits， such as transportation， energy， power， communications， and mining， and therefore plays a more visible role in promoting economic and social development in Africa. Several studies have found that China’s overseas financing projects have a significant impact on economic growth， with a new Chinese-financed project increasing GDP per capita by nearly one percentage point on average， and its economic pull on African countries is particularly pronounced.

China-Africa infrastructure cooperation meets the urgent development needs of African countries and has had a positive effect on promoting inclusive development. China-Africa infrastructure cooperation mainly flows into the field of “connectivity infrastructure” such as highways， railroads， airports， ports， bridges， electric power， information communication， etc.， and therefore plays an important role in promoting the development of the projects along the routes， boosting the development of the neighboring and remote areas， and benefiting a larger number of people. An empirical study based on nighttime lighting data shows that China’s financing-supported “connectivity infrastructure” has played a significant role in improving regional and urban-rural development imbalances. “In the sample regions， one additional Chinese-financed project reduces economic concentration by 10 percent， and this effect is more pronounced in urban and coastal areas， and greater in less developed areas in Africa and other countries.”

The Significance and Direction of Deepening China-Africa Development Corridor Cooperation

As key resource corridors， strategic routes and regional links， African development corridors are of great significance for regional cooperation， national development， supply chain security and global strategic security. At present， the green transformation process， supply chain security issues and the widening of competition among the major countries have further highlighted the strategic value of the African development corridors. Expanding and deepening China-Africa development corridor cooperation is significant for promoting the development of Africa and advancing China-Africa cooperation.

I.Promoting Strategic Cooperation in China-Africa Development Corridors and Enhancing the Strategic Value of China-Africa Cross-Regional Cooperation.

China has some early advantages in the construction of development corridors in Africa， but they are limited to project cooperation and have not yet formed strategic， systemic and institutional advantages. How to transform project advantages into strategic advantages should become an important direction for China-Africa cooperation.

First， we need to plan the construction of China-Africa development corridors in the new period with strategic thinking. The transformation to strategic thinking is mainly manifested in the following： upgrading from the builder of infrastructure to the manager of the infrastructure ecosystem， i.e. expanding from hard infrastructure construction to infrastructure “both soft and hard”; upgrading from single infrastructure cooperation to systematic cooperation for the development along the corridor or regional coordinated development.

Second， strategic coordination is needed to enhance the institutional advantages of China-Africa development corridor construction. The Africa development corridors epitomize China’s economic activities in African countries， and they represent many economic activities such as infrastructure construction， trade， investment， assistance， industrial development， experience and technology transfer. If these relatively dispersed cooperation projects are integrated into a coordinated and planned cooperation mechanism， which helps the development corridor produce significant benefits， it will greatly enhance the institutional advantages of China-Africa development corridor construction.

II.Carrying out Practical Cooperation in China-Africa Development Corridors to Create a Shining Example for China-Africa Trans-Regional Cooperation.

The construction of African development corridors has an obvious cross-region， cross-mechanism， cross-field， cross-sector and cross-group nature， hence the cooperation of China-Africa development corridors will be a very complex and systematic project， and it will face more diverse problems and challenges in practice. Adhering to the development-oriented and pragmatic cooperation-oriented principle and ensuring that cooperation projects are put into practice and produce practical results are the starting point and ultimate goal of China-Africa development corridor cooperation.

First， the complementary relationship between infrastructure development and regional development should be strengthened by enhancing the inclusiveness of infrastructure. The enhancement of infrastructure inclusiveness should be taken as an important direction. Major and signature projects （such as transport corridors like the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway） can be taken as pilots， with local regions as the focus， to strengthen the study on the mutually reinforcing relationship between infrastructure development and regional inclusive development， to promote the optimal allocation of industries， capital， technology and other factors in the region， so as to form a benign demonstration zone for China-Africa development corridor cooperation.

Second， the system and working mechanism of China-Africa development corridor cooperation should be continuously improved. There are multiple actors involved in the planning， construction and operation of development corridors in Africa， including the AU， sub-regional organizations， the African Development Bank and other multilateral mechanisms at the regional level， the central and local governments at the national level， and the private sector， social organizations and local communities at the sub-national level. On the basis of the Africa development corridor projects， China can actively strengthen its interaction and coordination with African actors at different levels and promote the building of an effective China-Africa community of development corridor cooperation.

III.Participating in International Cooperation for the Construction of African Development Corridors and Promoting the Establishment of an Effective International System of Development Cooperation with Africa.

African development corridors have received extensive attention from the international community， and the increased input of major countries in key African corridors is reshaping the global partnership for Africa’s development. On the one hand， the increased input of major countries has brought new resources and opportunities for the construction of African development corridors. But on the other hand， Western countries have also introduced ideology and geopolitical and economic competition into Africa. Politicizing such development cooperation and using it as an instrument are likely to make the construction of African development corridors deviate from the original track， which will in turn do harm to Africa’s development. In view of this， China is actively participating in international cooperation on the construction of African development corridors and is striving to promote the construction in the right direction.

First， China will strengthen cooperation with African regional and sub-regional organizations. China supports the central position of regional organizations and African countries in the construction of African development corridors， and will study and put forward the China-Africa free trade area initiative at an appropriate time. Under the framework of the FOCAC， China will establish institutionalized links with African sub-regional organizations. Through strengthening China-Africa cross-regional cooperation， China will help enhance the role of the African development corridors in attracting international investment and bringing together international development partners.

Second， China will actively promote and participate in tripartite and multi-party cooperation by leveraging African development corridors. China will actively encourage and support enterprises and civil society to play a role in international cooperation along the corridors. Many Chinese enterprises have carried out a great deal of international cooperation in Africa through cross-border investment and localized operation. For example， in the construction of the Lobito Corridor promoted by Europe and the United States， Chinese enterprises have participated in the development of the project by investing in enterprises in Western countries. Overall speaking， actively exploring international cooperation at both the official and market levels can help promote the construction of an effective system of international development cooperation with Africa.

Conclusion

Building African development corridors is an important strategic choice for African countries to realize development and integration， and an important leverage for major countries to strengthen cooperation with Africa. By promoting the strategic cooperation of China-Africa development corridors， China can play a more active role in the process of African integration and the transformation of African development， and also help promote the further development of China-Africa cooperation in width and depth. The construction of China-Africa development corridors should adhere to the orientation and tradition of pragmatic cooperation， and emphasize both inclusive development and coordination mechanisms， so as to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the outcomes of China-Africa cooperation. At the same time， China will firmly uphold the moral proposition that “Africa is a stage for international cooperation， not an arena for major countries’ competition”， and actively explore tripartite and multi-party international cooperation so as to promote the construction of an open and inclusive system of international development cooperation with Africa.

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Zhou Yuyuan is Deputy Director and Research Fellow of the Center for West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies