China is bolstering its image as Africa’s enduring partner by gifting high-profile infrastructure such as the presidential palace and parliament buildings.
A key example is the new $32 million Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) headquarters in Abuja. The 15-member centralized complex, funded by China and due to be handed over at the end of January, is designed to increase employee productivity and reduce operating costs.
On December 4, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai visited the site to check on the progress and met with Dr. Omar Toure, Chairman of the ECOWAS Commission.
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Mr Yu praised the building as a “landmark project for bilateral cooperation” and a powerful example of South-South cooperation. Toure, for his part, said construction of the building, which will begin in 2022, symbolizes “Beijing’s commitment to regional integration.”
The Chinese-built headquarters was completed during military takeovers in West Africa’s “coup belt”, including recent failed coups in Guinea-Bissau and Benin.
Observers say that the Economic Community of West African States headquarters is a clear example of China’s “palace diplomacy”. Reports show that since 2000, Beijing has funded the construction or renovation of nearly 200 government office buildings.
According to a 2020 study by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, Chinese companies built or renovated at least 186 government buildings, including palaces, parliament, presidential palaces, foreign ministries and military installations.
This number has increased with the implementation of new projects such as the parliaments of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Congo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Annex of Ghana, and the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Ethiopia.
These projects are funded from a variety of sources, including winning commercial contracts, loans and donations.
The Heritage Foundation report said Chinese-funded projects and gifts create “vehicles for Chinese surveillance and influence.”
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the report as “full of lies and ideological bias.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said after the release of the report, “China has always carried out pragmatic and efficient cooperation with African countries based on their needs. China has built many infrastructure projects for African countries, which has brought tangible benefits to the African people and created favorable conditions for international partners to cooperate with Africa.”
China has established at least one-third of African parliaments. Observers say that through this strategy, Beijing has been quietly ensuring influence at the highest levels of governance across the continent.
David Sheehan, an expert on China-Africa issues and a professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said China’s gifts to the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja or the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa are clear examples of “buying influence with African governments.”
The only difference between these gifts and providing football stadiums or parliament buildings, he said, is that China has established influence in many governments, not just one capital.
“While China is not the only country to engage in influence buying by giving away high-profile projects, Beijing has done more than any other donor government,” Sheehan said.
These projects are also inherently different from those based on loans or even grants, which focus on building capacity in health and education or improving food security, he said.
“Once these institutions are operational, African governments will need to put their national interests first, but this may be difficult to do if Beijing forces them to adopt a pro-China stance,” Sheehan said.
But China’s diplomatic gifts also extend to other major continental institutions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where China spent $200 million building and financing the African Union headquarters, which it handed over in 2012.
China invested US$80 million to build the headquarters of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Ethiopian capital, which is positioned as a gift to the African Union.
Innocent Batsani-Ncube, associate professor of African politics at Queen Mary University of London and author of the book China and Africa ParliamentHe said that as a major global power, China’s approach is not fundamentally different from that of other countries, as all countries are seeking influence, but Beijing’s strategy is unique in that it uses “concrete symbols” or gifted architecture to project short-term influence.
Referring to China’s gifts to regional groups such as the African Union and ECOWAS, Bassani-Ncube said the long-term plan was to “not only talk to those who currently hold the power of government but also to situate themselves within the formal public institutions of Africa so that they can gain long-term access”.
China presents these palaces or parliaments in a way that “paralyzes the bureaucracy,” severely limiting the recipient’s negotiating space, he said.
Zimbabwe’s new parliament, located at Mount Hampden, 18 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of Harare, was funded by a US$140 million grant from China and built by Shanghai Construction Engineering Group. It is handed over in 2022.
“At the top, when gifts are given, there is very limited room for negotiation,” Bassani-Ncube added.
In many cases, China continues to maintain buildings long after they are built to ensure continued influence, he said.
These gifts are not without controversy. In 2018, Beijing was accused of eavesdropping on the African Union headquarters.
However, Bassani-Ncube dismissed the espionage accusations as he believed there was “no hard evidence” and no realistic basis to believe China would install eavesdropping devices in African parliaments, as their procedures are usually public.
He said the strategic value lies elsewhere. Bassani-Ncube added that China’s main goal in providing infrastructure was the overt “symbolism” of its physical presence and the control it conferred, a more powerful form of influence.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, explore the SCMP app or visit SCMP on Facebook and twitter Page. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
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