China Now Has A Stake In One-Third Of Africa’s Ports, Study Finds

Key Points

• A March 2025 Africa Center study links Chinese state-backed firms to 78 of Africa’s 231 commercial ports across 32 countries, including at least ten operating concessions.
• It also records 55 Chinese naval port calls and 19 exercises in Africa since 2000, connected to 36 ports where Chinese firms have roles.
• Rail-and-mine projects increasingly feed those ports, tightening “pit-to-port” routes for copper, lithium, and iron ore.

Port influence is who runs terminals, sets fees, assigns berths, and clears cargo. A March 2025 study by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies says Chinese state-linked companies now sit inside those decisions across Africa.

The study counts Chinese firms as builders, financiers, or operators in 78 of Africa’s 231 commercial ports, spanning 32 countries.

Nigeria’s Lekki Deep Sea Port is a flagship example: built by China Harbour Engineering Company, backed by China Development Bank financing, and structured with CHEC holding 54%.

It also notes Hutchison Ports operating a terminal at Egypt’s Abu Qir Naval Base under a long concession from the Egyptian Navy. The report links commercial reach to military options.

China expands strategic African ports

Since 2000, it records 55 Chinese naval port calls and 19 exercises in Africa, and says 36 ports with known Chinese involvement have hosted calls or drills.

Djibouti is the clearest hinge: a Chinese-financed terminal at Doraleh was followed by China’s first overseas naval base in 2017.

It highlights seven ports whose design features could support future military use: Luanda, Doraleh, Mombasa, Walvis Bay, Lekki, Victoria (Seychelles), and Dar es Salaam.

China-linked deals also tie minerals to export gates: MMG’s 2023 agreement to buy the owner of Botswana’s Khoemacau copper mine for $1.875 billion; Mali’s 2024 Goulamina lithium deal that raised the state stake to 35%.

Guinea’s Simandou iron ore corridor with a 552-kilometer rail line plus a 74-kilometer branch to the Morebaya port, first shipments targeted for mid-November 2025, and output projected at 120 million tons a year.

Chokepoints shape costs, timing, and bargaining power across global supply chains.

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