The potential of China’s renewable energy rise in the solar energy industry to foster win-win China-Africa relations

Abstract

Africa and China have become ever closer related politically and economically in the last decade, with China stressing the “historic” aspect of the relationship. Increasingly though there are African voices asking whether the China-Africa relationship is beneficial to Africa in light of unequal trade patterns in which China imports resource from Africa and exports manufactured products to Africa. The question thus emerges as to whether there can really be “mutual benefit” in the China-Africa partnership? This paper looks at the potential of renewable energy as one way of bringing more equality to the China-Africa engagement. The paper asks what African states (and other developing countries) can learn from China’s renewable energy industry rise, making use of solar as a case study; and secondly, how African countries can attract Chinese solar energy investment? The paper finds that both the rise of renewable energy in China and Chinese solar energy companies are profit driven. The paper identifies five aspects that are replicable and crucial in the development of a renewable energy industry as based on the Chinese example, these are: break energy monopolies, allow independent power producers, draft a national energy law, create market security and make use of turnkey.