The race for African ports? Chinese contributions to African port development

Since the mid-2000s, the port transition has been underway along African seaboards. Terminalization, specialization and modernization of African ports are as much the result of national and regional development strategies as of the growing presence of globalized operators, including Chinese companies. This article aims to analyze the different ways in which Chinese port operators intervene in Africa and, consequently, their contribution to African port development. Among the four main Chinese groups present on the continent’s coasts, China Merchants currently seems the most likely to embody this big push for ports and logistics, which is first and foremost driven by the African Union and its member states.