Africa’s newly adopted Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS) is poised to reshape the future of Africa-China industrial relations, signaling a shift from traditional resource extraction to value-added industrial cooperation in the green economy.
Adopted by the African Union Executive Council in February 2025, the AGMS presents a continental roadmap for leveraging Africa’s rich deposits of green minerals—such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese, and rare earth elements—toward equitable resource-based industrialisation (ERBI).
China, the world’s largest processor of critical minerals and a key development partner across Africa, is expected to be a significant player in this new phase.
“We’re no longer content with exporting raw minerals,” said Dr. Marit Y. Kitaw, Interim Director of the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC). “Africa wants partnerships that support local beneficiation, battery manufacturing, and green technology production.”
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, African countries collectively control over 70% of global cobalt reserves, 30% of bauxite, and significant shares of lithium, manganese, and platinum group metals—all critical for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells.
China’s strategic interest is clear. In 2023, more than 60% of the world’s lithium-ion batteries and 77% of global battery cell production came from Chinese firms. With mounting demand and geopolitical pressure to diversify supply chains, Africa’s AGMS offers China an opportunity to secure critical inputs while supporting local industrial growth.
The AGMS outlines plans for the creation of Green Mineral Value Chain Investment Funds, the development of regional centres of excellence in battery and EV technologies, and tariff mechanisms to encourage local manufacturing. Pilot projects under consideration include lithium battery plants in DRC-Zambia, solar panel manufacturing hubs, and electric motorcycle production in East Africa.
“We see a win-win opportunity,” said Fred Kabanda, Manager of Extractives at the African Development Bank. “China has the technology and capital; Africa has the resources and market. But this time, partnerships must prioritize Africa’s development goals.”
Observers say that with the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) reducing barriers to intra-African trade, and climate finance increasingly tied to green transitions, China may adapt its approach—investing in local processing and co-ownership of industrial facilities rather than focusing purely on extraction.
“Africa is no longer just a pitstop for raw materials,” said Antonio Pedro, Acting Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “It is positioning itself as a manufacturing hub for the global green transition—and China will need to engage with that reality.”
As Africa embraces the AGMS, the next chapter of Africa-China cooperation may be written not in mines—but in factories, labs, and industrial parks across the continent.
