China-Africa summit: The tactics behind President Xi Jinping’s red-carpet welcome

Over the last two decades, China’s diplomacy has paid off. Out of all the countries in the world, it has risen to become Africa’s largest trading partner.

Data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that a fifth of Africa’s exports go to China, the bulk of which includes metals, mineral products and fuel. The exports have quadrupled in US dollar terms since 2001.

For African countries, China is also the “single largest source of imports” of manufactured goods and machinery, according to the IMF.

But the balance of trade, in most cases, favours China massively.

This is something Mr Ramaphosa sought to address in his bilateral meeting with President Xi.

“We would like to narrow the trade deficit and address the structure of our trade,” South Africa’s president said.

A joint communique issued afterwards said that “China showed it was willing to uplift job creation, citing recruitment conferences for Chinese enterprises to promote local employment in South Africa”.

Kenya, on the other hand, is seeking more credit, despite a heavy debt burden that gobbles up nearly two thirds of its annual revenue and which recently triggered street protests after the government sought to introduce new taxes to fund the budget deficit.

Mr Ruto hopes to secure funding for various infrastructure projects, including the completion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to connect Kenya’s coast to neighbouring Uganda, the building of roads and dams, the establishment of a pharmaceutical park and a technology-driven transport system for the capital, Nairobi.

After connecting Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa, China discontinued its financing of the controversial SGR four years ago, leading to rail tracks ending in a field outside the lake city of Naivasha.