China rolls out red carpet for African heads

China rolled out the red carpet on Monday for leaders from across Africa, seeking to deepen ties with the resource-rich continent it has furnished with billions in loans for infrastructure and development.

Beijing has said this week's the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be its largest diplomatic event since the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than a dozen leaders and delegations expected.

China has sent hundreds of thousands of workers to Africa to build its megaprojects while tapping the continent's vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.

Its huge loans have funded infrastructure but also stoked controversy by saddling countries with huge debts.

China, the world's number two economy, is Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $167.8 billion in the first half of this year, according to Chinese state media.

Security is tight across Beijing, with roads and bus stops bedecked with banners declaring China and Africa are "joining hands for a brighter future".

Among the leaders in the capital is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who arrived early on Monday for a four-day trip during which he will also visit the southern tech powerhouse city of Shenzhen.

Trade between China and South Africa soared to $38.8 billion in 2023, according to the South African presidency.

Ramaphosa met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said.

China and South Africa are expected to sign a number of agreements focused on "enhancing economic cooperation and the implementation of technical cooperation", Ramaphosa's office said.

Xi also met Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said. Leaders of Djibouti as well as Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Mali and others, also arrived in Beijing.

Beijing's loans to African nations last year were their highest in five years, research by the Chinese Loans to Africa Database found. Top borrowers were Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. However, the data showed that loans were well down compared to highs in 2016, when they totalled almost $30 billion.

The loans were also increasingly to local banks, researchers said.