'Out Of Africa': Beijing Slashes Investment Up To 85% https://t.co/RAINlwx80W
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 24, 2026
Railways in Kenya, ports in Tanzania, energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, and militarized infrastructure in various places have meant billions in state-backed loans. For decades, Beijing has positioned itself as Africa’s largest trading partner and its most aggressive infrastructure financier.
But something has changed.
In some sectors, such as energy lending by Chinese development finance institutions, investment levels have fallen by as much as 85 percent from their peak years. That’s not a rounding error, that’s a strategic retreat.
What’s really going on? Is China walking away from Africa? Or is Africa revealing something deeper about China’s own economic stress?
It’s all of the above and more.
The Pullback Is Real—and Sharp
According to research cited by the Clean Air Task Force, Chinese development finance for African energy projects has declined roughly 85 percent since 2015. That’s a dramatic contraction in capital deployment.
Separate reporting based on data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center shows that Chinese lending to Africa has fallen sharply in recent years. In some reports, China’s investment fell nearly 46 percent year over year in 2024.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/out-africa-beijing-slashes-investment-85