- Between 2000 and 2024, China provided $66.1 billion in energy loans to African countries, making it the continent’s top external energy financier.
- China’s investments spanned oil and gas projects, power plants, transmission infrastructure, and renewable energy developments across Africa.
- Chinese financing has helped Beijing gain access to strategic resources, deepen trade relations, and expand geopolitical influence in Africa.
- The ten largest recipients, led by Angola, South Africa and Sudan have channeled these loans into major power generation, oil production, and export infrastructure projects.
China has cemented its position as the dominant external financier of Africa’s energy sector over the past two decades, committing tens of billions of dollars to different sectors like oil production, power generation, and electricity transmission projects across the continent.
According to data from the Global Development Policy Center, China provided $66.1 billion in energy loans to African countries between 2000 and 2024, making energy one of the single largest sectors of Chinese lending on the continent.
The energy push forms part of a much broader financing strategy. Overall, the report notes that China has issued 1,319 loans worth $180.9 billion to African countries since 2000, funding infrastructure, mining, transport, and power projects critical to economic growth.
These investments have helped Beijing secure access to strategic natural resources, deepen trade ties, and expand its geopolitical influence across Africa.
China’s aggressive financing has also intensified competition with Western countries and Russia, both of which are seeking to expand their presence in Africa’s energy landscape. While Western institutions such as the World Bank and European lenders have increasingly shifted toward renewable energy and governance-linked financing, China has remained willing to fund large-scale oil, gas, and fossil fuel infrastructure.