China's top diplomat heads to Africa as West's attention dwindles

6/1/2025 15:26

China's top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Sunday, maintaining a 35-year-long tradition, to quietly advance Beijing's already sizeable influence across the resource-rich continent as Europe's presence wanes and America's wavers.



While global capitals and investors brace for the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to the White House, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and domestic politics keep German and French ministers occupied, Foreign Minister Wang Yi being in Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Nigeria highlights the consistency of China's engagement with Africa, analysts say.



Wang's visit through to Saturday also comes as the world's No.2 economy ramps up its financial support for the debt-laden continent and looks to strike more critical minerals deals and find markets to absorb its exports.



Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, announced the visit at a news conference on Friday, saying it aimed to deepen practical cooperation across the board for sustained and substantive growth of China-Africa relations.