The G20 Summit in South Africa, scheduled for November 22–23, 2025, illustrates the growing competition between China and the United States for influence in Africa. While Beijing focuses on the continuity of its cooperation, diplomacy, and even strategic partnership with the continent, Washington adopts a more confrontational posture, marked by its notable absence from the summit.  

China’s strategy: continuity and expansion  

China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for sixteen consecutive years, with trade reaching nearly USD 296 billion in 2024. That same year, China-Africa trade grew by 4.8%, totaling USD 295.5 billion. African imports to China rose by 6.9% to USD 116.8 billion, while Chinese exports to Africa reached USD 178.8 billion, up 3.5%. In the first five months of 2025 alone, trade between the two partners already reached USD 134.16 billion, a 12.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024.  

Key sectors of Sino-African cooperation include:  

- Transport infrastructure: construction of roads, ports, and railways under the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2025, China invested USD 39 billion in Africa, including USD 21 billion in Nigeria, confirming its role as the leading infrastructure investor on the continent.  

- Energy and mining: projects such as the Simandou 2040 Program in Guinea, where China supports the exploitation of the world’s largest iron deposit.  

- Space and data technologies: creation of the China-Africa Cooperation Centre on Satellite Remote Sensing Application (CACSA), operational since 2023, providing satellite imagery and cloud data platforms to sixteen African countries. CACSA has already deployed 14 cloud platforms and supplied more than 70,000 satellite images to African agencies.  

- Urbanization and public services: cooperation under the Beijing Action Plan (2025–2027), supporting industrialization, urban modernization, and spatial infrastructure development in Africa.  

- Health and technology cooperation: combining medical support, digital innovation, and skills transfer, placing China at the heart of Africa’s modernization, notably in vaccines and satellites.  

- Pragmatic diplomacy: prioritizing stability and economic development, reinforcing China’s image as a reliable partner.  

Through its strategic partnership, Beijing emphasizes a “win-win” logic, linking its projects to Africa’s modernization. Chinese-financed infrastructure strengthens regional connectivity and economic integration, consolidating China’s position as an indispensable partner compared to the U.S. and Europe, which struggle to compete in terms of investment volume and speed. China also reaffirmed its role as Africa’s strategic partner, consolidating a relationship built on the promise of shared development.  

The American approach: selective engagement and tensions  

By contrast, the U.S. absence represents a symbolic rupture. President Donald Trump’s boycott reflects a confrontational stance, denouncing alleged “violations of the rights of white minorities” in South Africa. This posture contrasts with recent U.S. initiatives:  

- Security and counterterrorism programs, notably in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.  

- Private investments encouraged by Washington to compete with Chinese projects.  

- A narrative on democracy and human rights aimed at appealing to segments of Africa’s elites.  

However, this strategy suffers from inconsistency and a perception of interference, weakening the U.S.’s image as a reliable long-term partner.  

Africa at the center of diplomacy  

This G20 highlights a reality: Africa has become the center of strategic competition between Beijing and Washington.  

- China offers long-term economic and technological cooperation.  

- The U.S. prioritizes a security and ideological approach, but its absence undermines credibility.  

For Africa, the challenge is to transform this competition into cooperation and opportunity by diversifying partnerships and asserting sovereignty in development choices. Ultimately, the Johannesburg G20 illustrates Africa’s central role in global rebalancing, where the evolving presence of China and the U.S. in Africa plays out as much in infrastructure and technology as in values and security. Clearly, China consolidates its lead through tangible projects, while the U.S. absence underscores the limits of a confrontation-based strategy. Africa, the “Cradle of Humanity,” now at the heart of global issues, must draw all the consequences and strengthen its role in global governance alongside other Global South countries.

About the author: Héribert-Label Élisée Adjovi, Governor of the Benin based Pan-African Magazine of Diplomacy and International Relations “Le Label Diplomatique”, Chairman of the Xi'an Think Tank for Sino-African Cooperation and Development.