As US Withdraws from Africa, China Fills Gap with Solar Technology – and Political Persuasion

Above, short news piece from CGTN, China Global Television Network.
It accurately reports that nations across Africa are in the process of leapfrogging fossil fuels and expensive transmission grids and racing to install increasingly inexpensive solar panels, which we know are primarily Chinese made.
Instructive to compare to the catastrophic implosion and withdrawal from the developing world being implemented under the current fossil-fuel controlled Administration in the US.

Ember:

The latest data provides evidence that a solar pick-up is happening at scale in many countries in Africa.

Solar is not new to Africa. For more than two decades, solar has helped improve lives across Africa, in rural schools and hospitals, pay-as-you-go in homes, street lighting, water pumping, mini-grids and more. However, South Africa and Egypt are currently the only countries with installed solar capacity measured in gigawatts, rather than megawatts. That could be about to change.

The first evidence of a take-off in solar in Africa is now here:

• The last 12 months saw a big rise in Africa’s solar panel imports. Imports from China rose 60% in the last 12 months to 15,032 MW. Over the last two years, the imports of solar panels outside of South Africa have nearly tripled from 3,734 MW to 11,248 MW.

• The rise happened across Africa. 20 countries set a new record for the imports of solar panels in the 12 months to June 2025. 25 countries imported at least 100 MW, up from 15 countries 12 months before.
• These solar panels will provide a lot of electricity. The solar panels imported into Sierra Leone in the last 12 months, if installed, would generate electricity equivalent to 61% of the total reported 2023 electricity generation, significantly adding to electricity supply. They would add electricity equivalent to over 5% to total reported electricity generation in 16 countries.
• Solar panel imports will reduce fuel imports. The savings from avoiding diesel can repay the cost of a solar panel within six months in Nigeria, and even less in other countries. In nine of the top ten solar panel importers, the import value of refined petroleum eclipses the import value of solar panels by a factor of between 30 to 107.

This surge is still in its early days. Pakistan experienced an immense solar boom in the last two years, but Africa is not the next Pakistan – yet. However, change happens quickly. And the first evidence is now here.

Initial analysis suggests the growth may be driven more in distributed solar than in utility-scale solar.

The Chinese solar export data used in this report is an important source of data, but it is only a partial view. More detailed and localised research is needed to fully track solar’s rise in Africa.

Council on Foreign Relations:

Last month, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi made his first trip of 2025 a visit to the African continent, as has been Beijing’s practice for decades. His message? China values its relationships in Africa, is a consistent and reliable partner, and aims to advance shared development and prosperity.  

Also last month, the Trump administration began its assault on U.S. foreign assistance, mandating that spending and projects stop, and set about dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Our message to Africa? The United States is unreliable, disinterested, and increasingly incompetent, as USAID’s capacity to even process waivers for life-saving assistance is hollowed out by the administration’s demand that USAID staff stop working.  

This own goal is nonsensical. The image being painted of USAID as an unaccountable, rogue agency frittering away taxpayer resources doesn’t stand up to even the most cursory scrutiny. Year after year, Congress has had the same oversight authorities over USAID that it has over the rest of the executive branch. The Foreign Operations Appropriations bill is hardly a blank check—most U.S. assistance is earmarked for very specific purposes, by the elected representatives of the American people in the House and Senate. From notification and reporting requirements, on-demand briefings, oversight hearings, and traveling Congressional delegations getting a look at USAID activities in the field, there are multiple accountability mechanisms in place.   

The problem for the United States is not just the loss of goodwill, or the particularly unfavorable comparisons to our geopolitical rivals, who seek African support for their preferred global norms and African minerals for their tech industries. The United States invests in development for concrete reasons beyond the competition for influence. Better infectious disease management systems abroad make it less likely that terrifying infectious diseases, like Ebola, will become a problem at home. Job-creating economic growth can staunch overwhelming migratory flows and stem violent extremism. Development can give countries emerging from conflicts that open the door to global bad actors—from Russian mercenaries to Iranian arms merchants—a reason to keep the peace. There’s a reason U.S. defense leaders have consistently supported federal spending on diplomacy and development. The United States cannot advance its interests by military means alone.