"While the protectionist shift in the United States will have limited economic impact on southern African countries, particularly South Africa, countries in the region will not welcome this pressure and may decide that aligning themselves more closely with China is in their best interests," wrote David Omojomolo, an analyst at Capital Economics.
Commenting on the freeze on international aid from USAID, the US agency for development and humanitarian aid, which accounts for 40 percent of the world's international assistance, the analyst who follows several African economies, including Angola and Mozambique, says that "aid cuts and metal tariffs are unlikely to affect the economies of many emerging markets," but will have other consequences.
"The impact of these protectionist measures on the GDP of countries in the region is likely to be small, but the measures increase the risk of pushing countries, such as South Africa, into a bloc more closely aligned with China, whose terms for financial support may seem more predictable and less subject to change," the analyst concludes.
David Omojomolo's comment, sent to investors and to which Lusa had access, is in line with other analysts, such as the president of the Global Network for Africa Prosperity and director of the US-based Brookings Institute, university professor Landry Signé.
This analyst believes that there is a "risk of the US losing the geopolitical competition for Africa to countries such as China, Russia and the Gulf states, which continue to deepen their ties to the continent through economic and military partnerships and access to critical minerals".
These analyses come at the same time that the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the main promoter of the Lobito Corridor, announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).
The aim of the memorandum is to "deepen collaboration in financing strategic infrastructure and commercial projects on the continent".
To date, AFC has secured a total of 700 million dollars in financing from CEXIM, says the entity focused on financing large infrastructures, highlighting that "this renewed partnership will focus on trade finance and investment projects in crucial sectors such as clean energy, transport, telecommunications and climate change mitigation".
AFC has been investing in the Chinese financial market, having received an AAA rating, the highest, from the financial rating agency Chengxin International, and participated in a 1.16 billion dollars debt issue led by the Bank of China and the London branch of the China Bank of Industry and Commerce.
"Through this partnership, the two institutions will work together to mobilise financing for high-impact projects, improve trade finance solutions and support private sector growth across the continent", reads the statement sent to Lusa.
