Mozambique and China have signed a strategic agreement linking defense support and industrial investment to access to one of Africa’s largest natural resource potentials, including more than 5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and extensive reserves of critical minerals.
According to Business Insider Africa, the understanding was reached in Beijing following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo. The deal follows a model in which financing, security, and industrial development are coordinated in exchange for strategic access to resources.
At the center of the agreement is the Rovuma Basin, home to gas reserves estimated at over 5 trillion cubic meters, as well as largely untapped deposits of graphite, lithium, and rare earth elements — key raw materials for the global energy transition.
According to a joint statement, China will conduct large-scale geological surveys in northern Mozambique and invest in the development of local processing infrastructure, with the aim of reducing raw material exports and promoting industrialization.
The initiative will be supported by platforms such as the China-Africa Geoscience Cooperation Centre and the Belt and Road International Geoscience Education and Training Centre, reinforcing the structured and long-term nature of China’s involvement. President Xi Jinping stated that China is ready to “explore new avenues of cooperation in infrastructure and the integrated development of the energy and mining sectors,” signaling a long-term strategic presence in Mozambique.
The agreement also includes a security component, with Beijing committing to support counterterrorism efforts in Cabo Delgado, where an insurgency active since 2017 has displaced more than one million people and disrupted key gas and mining projects.
On the economic front, the partnership also предусматриes the facilitation of Mozambican agricultural exports to the Chinese market, through preferential access, reduced tariffs, and dedicated logistics channels, as well as cooperation in irrigation, seeds, and transport.
This model contrasts with the approach of Western partners. The United States, through the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), has opted to strengthen its presence in existing projects, planning to convert a $31 million loan into equity in Syrah Resources, operator of the Balama graphite mine, in addition to investing a further $15 million in its local subsidiary.
Unlike this more targeted strategy, China is offering an integrated package that combines resource mapping, financing, infrastructure, industrialization, and security — positioning itself more broadly in the global race for strategic resources.
Analysts believe the agreement strengthens China’s influence in Mozambique and places the country at the center of international competition for gas and critical minerals, amid growing rivalry among global powers.
Source: Diário Económico
