China in Africa

Chinese Car Brands

It doesn’t matter how small or poor a country is. There are always roads, and there is always freight transport, and therefore trucks. From country to country, there are significant differences in the number of trucks on the road and what they transport. There are also large differences regarding the condition and age of the vehicles. But even in countries where the majority of trucks are old, rusty, and without brakes, there are always new and modern trucks as well.

In some countries, you can see that they have close ties to the USA. Then you see many trucks from US brands on the roads. Big, loud, lots of chrome, and a long nose. Most countries, however, have a long and intensive relationship with Europe, and you see major European brands represented: Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Scania, Volvo, Tata.

But in most African countries, you see truck brands that are completely unknown in Europe: Sinotruck, FAW, Shacman, Foton, and others. All manufacturers from China.

There are mainly four reasons for this:

1. Trucks from Chinese manufacturers cost only about half as much in Africa as European manufacturers charge.
2. For European manufacturers, Europe is naturally the largest and most important market. Accordingly, vehicle models are developed for Europe and then modified and optimized for the African market. However, European technology is complex, expensive, and requires a lot of maintenance. These are rarely desirable characteristics given the tight budgets and harsh conditions in Africa.
3. While European companies adhere to (or are required to adhere to) European ethical standards in Africa, Chinese suppliers can adapt their sales strategies to the specific circumstances of each country without compromise and often successfully employ sales strategies based on the principle of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
4. The many Chinese companies in the mining, construction, and forestry sectors all bring their own commercial vehicles. This is flooding the countries with new and old vehicles made in China.

Along our journey, we visited several MAN workshops and spoke with many workshop managers. In every country, we heard similar statements:

The market for vehicles in Africa is becoming increasingly difficult; competition from China is becoming more and more dominant.

Mobile Communications

No matter what your expectations are when you travel to Africa, and no matter which country you visit, you’ll be surprised by the importance mobile communications have gained there. In EVERY country, there are several major mobile network operators. And in EVERY country, mobile network coverage is surprisingly good. Even in seemingly remote areas like the Sahara or the jungles of the Congo Basin, network coverage and signal quality are usually remarkably good.

Virtually EVERYONE owns a mobile phone:

In some ways, you might think that people in Africa are even more addicted to TikTok and similar platforms than people in Europe or the USA.

Even in very remote areas without centralized electricity, where people live in very simple mud or wooden houses, most people have a mobile phone.

In northern Namibia, you can meet members of the Himba people. This is a people who have consciously chosen a traditional, almost Stone Age way of life and are known for their body culture. Even the Himba use mobile phones.

However, few people in Africa can afford an expensive mobile phone from Apple or Samsung. The market is dominated by the Chinese company Transsion with its brands Tecno and Itel. Every town has a shop selling Transsion phones. These Android devices cost the equivalent of between $80 and $200. For most people in Africa, that’s still a small fortune. Nevertheless, many people in Africa own a smartphone.

Projects

Large construction projects in Africa are almost always carried out by Chinese companies. Construction machinery and engineers from China, workers from the respective country, and working methods from China. This means the companies are not exactly squeamish and show little regard for the environment or the local people.

Mining

China is very interested in the raw materials of African countries and is also very successful in concluding corresponding contracts with the governments of these countries, granting Chinese companies concessions to extract the raw materials. These are always large-scale operations, and the raw materials are usually extracted from the ground using open-pit mining.

Huge pits are excavated, and even larger spoil heaps are piled up. All sorts of things end up unfiltered in streams and rivers. In coal mining, coal dust covers vast areas around the coal mine, and the roads used for transport are also black with coal dust. Spoil heaps catch fire and smolder unchecked. Ore mining is also carried out ruthlessly.

Once the raw materials are exhausted or the contract expires, the machines are dismantled, leaving the landscape devastated. Huge holes gape in the ground, flanked by spoil heaps. No filling up of the holes or renaturalization seems to take place.

Timber Industry

In West Africa, from Guinea through Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon to the Congo, primeval forests still stand, containing enormous trees of very fine woods, including teak and mahogany. But how much longer these magnificent trees will be found there is the real question. Truck after truckload of these ancient giants are hauled out of the forests and transported to the coast. Numerous sawmills line the road, but the largest and most beautiful logs are shipped whole. Most of the trees go to China, but Europe and North America are also supplied from here with the last remaining giants of West Africa.

Unfortunately we don’t know for sure, but what we’ve been told and what we’ve seen suggests that it’s mostly Chinese companies that are felling and transporting the trees. The valuable logs aren’t priced by the piece or by weight; rather, these companies have been granted concessions to clear-cut and ship entire areas at will.

Road Construction

Chinese companies are also very active in building new roads. A large portion of these new roads are needed to transport raw materials from mining or the timber industry to the nearest port.

These are generally very well-built roads that benefit the country and the region, even after the mining project is eventually completed.

Many roads and bridges are also being built to improve the countries’ infrastructure. These projects are financed both by the respective countries and, to a large extent, by the European Union. (Development aid)

And then there are many new roads that fail shortly after their completion:

In almost all countries, the climate is significantly more extreme than in Europe or North America. Some countries experience long and severe droughts. Others have enough water year-round. However, in all countries, there are seasons when it RAINS. The rain softens the soil, and the floodwaters undermine the roads, causing extensive damage.

But many roads fail even before reaching that point. Unfortunately, we can’t substantiate our theory. However, we’ve gained the impression that Chinese companies receive their mining or other concessions, in part, because they commit to carrying out certain construction projects in return. Primarily road construction projects.

However, when it comes to executing these projects, the companies don’t seem particularly motivated to achieve high quality and appear to fulfill their contractual obligations with the bare minimum effort.

This was especially evident to us when we drove along a connecting road in eastern Ghana. The asphalt still looked brand new, and there were even a few construction vehicles parked along the road. But the asphalt surface was already broken up in countless places, and the potholes were so numerous that it was impossible to avoid them. Closer inspection of the road revealed that the asphalt was applied to a compacted base at a thickness of only about 3 cm. Too thin to support heavy vehicles without being damaged.

Uranium Mining in Namibia

Namibia is among the world’s top four uranium producers. The largest uranium mine, Rössing, is located about 60 km from Swakopmund and is the world’s largest open-pit uranium mine.

In July 2019, the China National Uranium Corporation acquired almost complete control of the mine. (68.62% as of 2019)

Cotonou

The capital of the small West African country of Benin is Cotonou. The city is booming! While the rest of the country presents a typical West African appearance, the coastal districts in particular consist of wide, grand boulevards lined on both sides by the harbor, monuments, and modern buildings. Here we also find the largest and best-stocked supermarket we visited in West Africa.

In the west of the city, the magnificent promenade extends far beyond the city limits until, after about 10 km, it abruptly ends at a construction site. (As of the end of 2023)

This construction project is intended to connect the city of Cotonou with the nearby city of Ouidah.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find out anything about the purpose or financing of this extravagant megaproject. However, the construction work was also carried out by a Chinese construction company.

We parked our vehicle on the beach there for two weeks at the end of 2023 while we were in Cotunou organizing our visas for Nigeria and Cameroon. We had plenty of time to observe the bustling construction activity:

We have never seen a construction project in Europe that was being pursued with such intensity. Trucks were constantly driving in and out of the access road to the construction site, bringing materials and hauling away excavated soil. Without exaggeration, at least one truck passed by every minute.

The relevance?

This impressively demonstrates that even in West Africa, construction projects by Chinese companies are being pursued intensively and without compromise.

Chinatowns?

Despite the clear Chinese presence, we didn’t see a typical Chinatown neighborhood on our journey through Africa. However, it’s quite possible we simply didn’t pass by any.

We did get the impression, though, that Chinese companies manage with relatively few, but highly qualified, employees from China. Physical labor is performed by Black workers. Trucks and construction equipment are also driven by local citizens. Surveyors, welders, and site managers are also local employees. It’s rare to see someone of Chinese appearance on construction sites.

Nevertheless, they are there. This is clearly evident in the fact that the majority of passengers on international flights are Chinese citizens. And yet, there don’t seem to be any neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Chinese.

What is consistently present, however, are Chinese malls and advertisements for Chinese companies.

Sand Exploitation

Concrete is a crucial component of construction projects. The main ingredient in concrete is sand. It’s hard to believe, but sand has become a scarce resource. As a result, sand extraction (legal or not) has become a major problem.

During our travels, we repeatedly encountered areas where sand is being, or has been, extracted. We frequently came across villages where people complained that their beach had disappeared.

In Gambia, we set up camp on the beach of a peninsula just south of the capital, Banjul. The entire area was once part of the presidential palace complex. Today, the remaining land is used for small fields and beach bars. “Remaining” because a large lake, containing old, rusted machinery, now sits in the middle of the area.

The owner of a beach bar told us that a Chinese company had been extracting black sand here. This happened years ago, and at the time, no one was allowed near the site. Everything was done in secret.

We have no idea what kind of deal went down here. But after the coveted black sand was extracted, the Chinese left, and everything was abandoned.

In Guinea-Bissau, we were told the story of Valentina, who has run a campsite on the beach for years but is now in conflict with the government and a Chinese company. The company wants to extract the sand from the beach in front of her camp. Her protest landed her in jail for a few days.

Resentments

Whenever we talk to people in Africa, the topic of China inevitably comes up. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking to city dwellers from Accra, farmers from South Africa, guides in Tanzania, or lodge owners in Namibia; whenever China is mentioned, we’re met with sad and pensive faces.

China’s influence is too great, they say, and they profit too much from the numerous deals, leaving the people of these countries with little to show for it, except perhaps the feeling of having been sold out and betrayed.

Culturally, China and Africa don’t seem to mesh well either. Visitors from China are perceived as too foreign, too unfriendly, and too condescending.

It seems that ordinary people in Africa would rather not do business with China. This suggests that all the more tempting promises and offers must have been made to African presidents and ministers.