IA “FACT” already wrote, how China is methodically building its empire, transforming African ports from economic projects to strategic bridgeheads. Already 78 ports in 32 countries controlled Chinese companies. This is rather not an investment, but the purchase of influence, because whoever controls the port controls access to the market and dictates the terms.
Example of Djibouti base showed, as a commercial port became a military base in two months. It is more than likely that such cases will increase. This is very similar to expansion under the guise of a business. And the more ports China controls, the deeper Africa sinks into dependence. This is a trap. The only question is whether there will be someone who will try to break out.
Ports, roads, railways are not just infrastructure, but instruments of influence
China is fighting a war without firing a shot. Ports, training, logistics are all elements of a grand strategy that is already changing the balance of power on the continent. In Beijing’s five-year plan painted: six corridors, six routes, dozens of ports. And three of these corridors pass through Africa. This is not accidental. Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Tunisia are key points that China is turning into strategic hubs from where access to resources, markets and control opens up.
China is building roads that lead to ports and ports that lead to global markets. 16 landlocked African countries have already become hostages of this strategy. Their economies are now tied to Chinese logistics. And this is not just “cooperation”, it is dependence. Whoever controls the way to the sea controls trade. And whoever controls trade controls politics.
Over the past quarter of a century, Chinese warships have docked in African ports 55 times. And these were not friendly visits, but a demonstration of strength. Chinese troops conducted 19 large-scale exercises in the strategic ports of Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Durban, Dorale. Even landlocked Ethiopia is involved in these maneuvers.
Using the example of the Egyptian naval base, you can understand how China is securing itself logistically. Hutchison Ports, one of the world’s leading players in the port industry, secures their positions in Egypt. In 2020, the company concluded a strategic 38-year agreement with the Egyptian Navy, taking on the ambitious task of building and operating a high-tech container terminal in Abu Kir from scratch. It is about the creation of a key logistics hub in the Mediterranean: a pier 1,200 meters long, 18 meters deep, and a terminal area of 60 hectares.
The potential is enormous: processing up to 2 million containers every year. This project is not only about business – it is about the strategic strengthening of Egypt in the world trade arena. This means that it is the Celestial Empire that will determine who and what enters this port, what is exported, and what remains.
So when you see a new Chinese port in Africa, don’t see it as just infrastructure. This is an outpost, a bridgehead. And it’s only a matter of time before China starts stationing troops there. China is playing in length. And African leaders must understand that every signed concession is a lost piece of sovereignty.
In some cases, Chinese companies control all aspects of port development – from financing and construction to management and share ownership. Thus, China Communications Construction Corporation (CCCC) acts as the main contractor, subcontracting to its subsidiary China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC). This applies, in particular, to the Nigerian deep-water port of Lekki, where CHEC built and designed, secured financing from the China Development Bank and received a 54% stake in the port, which it manages under the terms of a 16-year lease.
Chinese companies have significant stakes in key West African ports. In Kribi, Cameroon, – 2/3. In Lekki, Nigeria, – 52%. In Lome, Togo – half. But control is not only at the level of shares. The Chinese military is already active use African ports. Of the 78 ports where there are Chinese interests, 36 have had exercises or visits by ships of the Chinese Navy. Beijing does not just build – it tests, studies, adapts its positions. And these ports are already ready to receive the Chinese fleet.
China’s strategic ring: how Beijing is taking control of Africa through ports
Chinese companies take into account every detail: the depth of berths, logistics capabilities, refueling, repairs. Ports with a depth of 12 to 15 meters are capable accept most Chinese naval vessels, including destroyers with a draft of 6.5 meters, frigates with a draft of 6 meters, cruisers with a draft of 6.6 meters and aircraft carriers with a draft of 11 meters.
Since the average draft of oil tankers and cargo ships reaches 16 meters, it can be concluded that ports capable of receiving such large vessels can also handle warships. Ships of the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army of China already come in in key African ports – Abidjan, Casablanca, Maputo, Durban – they dock and carry out operations.
Every Chinese port in Africa is a potential military base. And each base is an extension of control. Beijing is not just building infrastructure. He builds fortresses for his own interests. And with each new contract, China takes Africa into the strategic ring.
ships come in to where everything is ready. Where it is not yet ready – Beijing invests, expands, modernizes. And if you look at the map, the location of the future bases is already obvious. Seven points where China can gain a foothold: Luanda, Dorale, Mombasa, Walfish Bay, Lekki, Victoria, Dar es Salaam. It is a strategic ring surrounding Africa. Atlantic and Western Indian Ocean: China covers the continent.
And if Africa does not realize in time that these “investments” are in fact a gradual absorption, then one morning it will wake up to a reality where Chinese warships will be standing in every key port. And it will not just be the economy. It will be control over politics, logistics, security.
China is active expands its presence in Africa, building a network of influence through investments in infrastructure and strategic facilities. The China-Africa Cooperation Forum has been operating since 2000, even before the creation of the African Union, but for a long time Beijing was hampered by competition from the United States, Europe and Russia. Now the situation has changed.
The West is focused on helping Ukraine and containing Russia, and the Kremlin, losing influence and resources due to its own aggression, is gradually surrendering positions, particularly in Africa. A wave of military coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Gabon pushed out The West, the new juntas demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops, and these demands were met.
China acts simply and pragmatically: it does not care what regime is in power. Beijing does not impose political conditions, does not talk about reforms or ecology. He is interested in business. The main thing is to agree with the elites. Now is the perfect time for Beijing to expansion influence, drawing the continent into global geopolitical rivalry.
So far, China has invested in the construction of more than 6,500 kilometers of railways, 6,000 kilometers of highways, 9 ports, 14 airports, 34 power plants and about 40 industrial parks on the African continent. But this is not just infrastructure – it is a bridgehead for geostrategic control. Every investment is leverage. Debt, concession, access to markets – a strategic chain by which China squeezes the continent.
Beijing denies plans to build military bases, but Djibouti is an example demonstrates another logic: first investments and commercial activity, then – a military base. A similar situation unfolds in Equatorial Guinea. China officially denies it, but diplomatic channels signal that it is exploring the possibility of deploying the fleet. A similar scenario has already been implemented in the ports of Sri Lanka, Greece, and Africa, where Chinese warships later began to call. Where Beijing is building a port, later occurs his military interest.
Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, and Walvis Bay are already being discussed as potential new footholds for the Chinese military. For now, Beijing is being rechristened, but it’s probably only a matter of time. Because for China, control over ports means control over decisions. And if a certain debt-ridden African country fails to repudiate its overlord at a critical moment, its sovereignty will be in jeopardy.
African leaders today talk about economic development, efficiency, improved logistics, but rarely ask questions about security or sovereignty. They do not think about how tomorrow these ports can turn into a tool of Beijing’s war game. When control over the port is lost, independence is also lost.
China plays hard and long-term. And the question is not whether Africa is ready for this game. The question is whether she realizes what she already has. When Chinese warships enter African ports, it will be too late to talk about “economic cooperation”. It is a new form of intervention—without weapons, but with strategic control that Beijing provides without firing a shot. Ports, roads, military agreements are the basis of the empire that China is building on the African continent.
The Black Continent Between Sanctions and Cooperation: Pragmatic Choices in the Game of Global Interests
Having found itself in the vortex of geopolitical confrontations, the “continent of opportunities” often demonstrates a pragmatic position. When the West imposes sanctions against Russia, some African states choose the path of neutrality, because China and Russia are strategic allies.
The West announces sanctions against Chinese companies, and in Africa they say: we will continue cooperation. Because Chinese companies build roads, bridges, airports. And what will African governments choose – to break ties or to develop their economies?
In addition, many African countries depend on Chinese logistics. Their goods go through Chinese ports, their economy is tied to these routes. And when there are calls to support sanctions that could affect these supply chains, the solution is clear: avoid conflict and ensure stability.
…Africa has found itself at the center of a global game where survival and economic expediency are not decisive. China, building an empire rather than playing democracy, has already integrated the continent into its strategy through investment and credit. But was this choice voluntary, or is Africa forced to play by someone else’s rules? The answer to this will determine her future and the balance of power in the world.
Tetyana Viktorova
