中文
By Nikola Mikovic
Lead: As Africa's energy demand grows, China is emerging as a key partner in the continent's green transition, financing solar, wind and hydropower projects across the region.
After remarkable green energy triumphs at home and becoming a world leader in renewables, China is now actively investing in clean energy projects abroad. Africa — often referred to as "the continent of the future" — is looking to Beijing for support in developing its power sector, where solar, wind and hydro resources could play a leading role.
More than 600 million people on the continent, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, still lack electricity access. As a result, Africa has historically had low emissions. This raises the question: Why should African countries pursue a green energy transition?
Africa's population and economy are growing rapidly. Agenda 2063, Africa's plan for inclusive and sustainable economic and social development over the next few decades, provides a roadmap for this growth. In the coming decades, the continent's energy demand is expected to rise significantly. While green energy alone may not fully meet Africa's electricity needs, it can help millions of households gain access to power. Solar energy, in particular, can bring electricity to millions.
Although Africa is home to about 60% of the world's highest-potential solar zones, the continent attracts less than 3% of global energy financing. Despite its enormous solar potential, Africa accounts for only 1% of the world's installed solar capacity, meaning solar energy still represents merely a small share of the region's total electricity generation. China appears to be among the first global actors to recognize the importance of Africa's vast solar sector.
Aerial photo taken on Feb. 15, 2019 shows the China-financed solar power plant Garissa Solar in Garissa County, Kenya. [China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation/Handout via Xinhua]
Despite Africa's strong renewable energy potential, many foreign investors remain cautious because of off-take risks, unclear rules, limited projects and financial uncertainty. Still, as African governments continue creating more favorable conditions for investment, Chinese companies are well positioned to seize these opportunities.
Beijing, through the Sino-African Green Finance Alliance — an initiative focused on addressing critical gaps in financing for green manufacturing and climate resilience across the continent — is helping African economies develop their renewable energy sectors. While past Chinese investment in Africa leaned more toward fossil fuels, policymakers in Beijing recognize that renewables present both strategic opportunities and long-term benefits for Africa's development.
As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed during his African tour in January 2025, Beijing is committed to working hand in hand with its African partners to advance the Green Development Partnership Action and help build the "Africa Solar Belt." It is no surprise, then, that solar panel imports from China to African countries grew significantly in 2025.
Currently, 59% of China's energy initiatives in Africa are in solar and wind. In South Africa, Chinese companies are active in the solar power sector. In October 2025, South Africa's Nkangala district municipality and China's Wucheng municipality signed a $35 million agreement to construct a solar panel assembly plant. In 2024, South Africa imported Chinese solar panels that could power 3.8 million homes.
Moreover, between 2011 and 2024, China invested $850 million in Ethiopia's green energy sector, while China's Kaishan Group plans to allocate $800 million to geothermal projects in neighboring Kenya. Beijing contributed more than $66 billion to African countries between 2010 and 2024, and regional actors now see China as a key partner in building green energy infrastructure.
A worker waters plants in the China-Africa Green Technology Park in Bir El Barka, Trarza region, western Mauritania, on May 22, 2025. The China-Africa Green Technology Park is a key demonstration project supporting Africa's Great Green Wall Initiative, launched in 2007 to create a 7,000-km ecological barrier across northern Africa and the Sahel to combat desertification. [Photo by Si Yuan/Xinhua]
In the coming years, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing will implement 30 clean energy and green development projects in Africa. In the long term, China's advances in green energy may become a crucial force shaping the global energy transition, with significant implications for African countries.
Driven by government support and policy, China's green energy transition has led Chinese firms to develop five key corridors of influence: production, innovation, markets, coordination and financing. But what does that mean for African states?
After decades of power shortages, Africa now has a chance to develop a stronger, cleaner and more reliable energy system. By 2028, the continent is expected to install an additional 23 gigawatts of solar capacity, more than doubling its current output. China, for its part, is likely to remain the preferred financier of renewable energy infrastructure for African governments.
Chinese investments worth more than $33 billion between 2020 and 2024 resulted in more than 32 gigawatts of new power generation capacity across 30 African nations. By 2024, nearly 50% of China's overseas energy projects were in renewable energy, with Africa representing 20% of this activity. These numbers highlight Africa's important role in China's efforts to advance the global shift toward clean and renewable energy.
China is playing a significant role in financing and developing green energy infrastructure on the continent, contributing to more than 40 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, according to Fu Yike, manager of the climate program at Development Reimagined, an Africa-led consultancy in Beijing.
African nations seem interested not only in major China-led green energy projects but also in Chinese-made electric vehicles. From January to May 2025, the export volume of Chinese cars to Africa reached 222,000 units. China's automotive exports to African countries surged by 65%, driven largely by electric vehicles, which made up more than 30% of that growth. Many African nations see China as a strategic partner in developing both renewable energy and cleaner mobility solutions.
In the coming years, Beijing is likely to continue providing loans and supporting African countries in advancing energy efficiency and sustainable development, while simultaneously promoting its green industries and expanding into new markets. From large hydropower dams in Zambia to solar parks in Mali, China is set to become a major driving force behind Africa's green transition.
Through investments in renewable energy, electric vehicles and green infrastructure, Beijing is positioning itself as a key partner in Africa's sustainable development. For African nations, this cooperation offers the chance to expand electricity access, build cleaner and more reliable energy systems, and drive sustainable, inclusive and long-term development.
Nikola Mikovic is a Serbia-based freelance journalist and political analyst.
