How China is expanding influence in Africa through construction of ports in Port News 10/02/2026 China’s rapid construction of ports in Africa has become its latest tool of influence, in the wake of rising scramble for trade, investment and mineral resource opportunities by the world’s economic powers. Beijing’s fingerprints are seen on these inlets from Kenya, Tanzania to Djibouti on the eastern African coast, with at least 17 recent port projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Africa. They include Mombasa, Lamu ports in Kenya, Doraleh in Djibouti, Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Bagamoyo, Mtwara in Tanzania, and Port Sudan and Sheikh Ibrahim in Sudan. Beijing’s presence in Africa, overall, included nearly a third of 231 active commercial ports in the continent’s maritime trade hubs, according to the latest report by Nigeria’s leading geopolitical research firm SBM Intelligence. Data shows Beijing either financed, built, has a stake or controls operations of some 40 trade ports in Africa. They recently built the Lamu port, control operations in Djibouti and are potential contenders when Mombasa eventually privatises operations (a tender is pending to privatise six berths in Mombasa and the three in second commercial port in Lamu). While governments largely retain land ownership, operational control has moved to private and foreign players, reflecting the scale of investment and expertise required to modernise trade infrastructure. Now economists say this could push the trade volume beyond the $348 billion recorded last year with African countries, even though China’s lending to the continent has been dropping.“The bigger picture is that the port developments fall broadly within China’s Belt and Road Initiative and also implementation of the country’s five year plans has laid an emphasis on connectivity across the BRI,” said Churchill Ogutu, an economist at IC Asset managers in Nairobi.“So absolutely, China wants to have a greater say in the global trade. We have seen it shrugging off the US tariff, showing its resiliency in the production and supply chains. Development of ports, in the trade logistics sector, will further anchor its trade dominance and along the BRI nodes,” he added. Seaports are specialised maritime or land hubs that act as primary entry and exit points for importing and exporting goods. They function as crucial, strategic nodes for loading and unloading cargo, transshipment and connecting diverse markets through infrastructure like docks, container terminals, and storage facilities. Some economists say China is looking at ports as a tool to maintain influence on Africa and that African ports matter to Beijing since they sit at the choke points of trade.“African ports matter to China for one simple reason. They sit at the choke points of trade,” says Irina Tsukerman, President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a geopolitical analyst and a human rights and national security lawyer based in New York and a Fellow at the Arabian Peninsula Institute.“Most African exports and imports still move by sea, and the fastest way to shape that flow is to shape the ports where cargo is cleared, stored, priced, and routed onward.”She argued that Beijing also sees ports as a tool to maintain influence, usually built through contracts rather than flags: Operating rights, long leases, and management roles create daily leverage.“The port operator has visibility into volumes, cargo patterns, and bottlenecks. The operator also builds relationships with cu