On Angola’s South Atlantic coast, a new US$900 million Chinese-backed port project is reinforcing Beijing’s long-standing dominance in African infrastructure at a time when the United States is seeking to strengthen its own strategic position through investments tied to critical mineral supply chains. The agreement, signed in July, illustrates how China’s extensive experience in delivering large-scale infrastructure continues to shape the continent’s economic landscape, even as Washington attempts to expand its influence through targeted investments and strategic partnerships.
Angola has emerged as one of the few African countries where the United States has openly sought to compete with China for political and economic influence. The country’s strategic importance was underscored in December 2024 when former US president Joe Biden became the first sitting American president to visit Angola. The visit, which came during the closing weeks of his presidency, centred on promoting investment in the Lobito Atlantic Railway, a transport corridor viewed by Washington as a key gateway to critical mineral supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
The railway links the Port of Lobito with the mineral-rich interior of southern Africa, providing what the United States considers an alternative route for securing supplies of minerals regarded as essential for advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies. Successive administrations have maintained support for the project. President Donald Trump’s administration continued backing the railway after taking office, while the US International Development Finance Corporation has committed US$553 million to its development. The agency plays a central role in advancing American overseas investment and is principally tasked with countering China’s expanding economic influence around the world.
Despite Washington’s renewed commitment to the Lobito corridor, Beijing has continued to strengthen its broader infrastructure presence in Angola. On 20 July, Huatong Angola, the local subsidiary of China’s Huatong Group, signed a US$900 million agreement with the state-owned Barra do Dande Development Society, S.A. (SDBD) to develop new port facilities at Barra do Dande, approximately 600 kilometres north of Lobito.
The development forms part of the Barra do Dande Integrated Development Free Zone, an export-oriented initiative intended to establish a manufacturing, logistics and export hub north of the capital, Luanda. The project aims to transform a remote stretch of Atlantic coastline into a major commercial centre, reflecting the type of large-scale engineering schemes that Chinese companies have frequently undertaken across Africa.
The investment package comprises two separate agreements signed by Huatong Angola, its financial partner Berkshire Waterhouse Infrastructure, and the SDBD on behalf of the Angolan government. The first agreement provides a 25-year concession to develop and operate the port terminal at a cost of US$450 million, while the second allocates a further US$450 million for associated port infrastructure.
Construction will proceed in three phases. The first phase is expected to be completed within two years and will include a fully operational terminal capable of supporting exports from the free-trade zone. The remaining two phases are scheduled for completion by 2030. According to Roque Saraiva, president of the SDBD’s board of directors, the finished port will accommodate vessels of up to 80,000 tonnes, create 21,000 jobs and generate approximately US$10 billion in annual economic activity.
Saraiva emphasised that the investment is being financed entirely by the private sector, describing this as evidence of both the project’s commercial viability and investor confidence. The concession to manage the port will remain in force for 25 years, further extending China’s growing maritime presence along Angola’s coastline.
The latest agreement builds upon a series of earlier Chinese infrastructure projects in the country. In 2022, the Chinese state-owned enterprises Citic Construction and Shandong Port Group secured an international public tender to manage the container and general cargo terminals at Lobito Port for 20 years. More recently, in January, China Energy Engineering Corporation completed a major redevelopment of Cabinda Port, located further north, enabling it to receive container ships and large roll-on-roll-off vessels serving Angola and neighbouring countries.
Observers argue that the scale and cost-effectiveness of Chinese infrastructure construction remain difficult for Western competitors to match. Eric Olander, analyst and editor at the US-based research non-profit China Global South Project, said Chinese companies have consistently benefited from their ability to execute major engineering projects at comparatively low cost.
“The US doesn’t have the kind of construction companies that can operate at the lower end of the cost structure the way that Chinese firms have been so successful over the years,” Olander said. “The administration’s Africa policy is largely focused on security and securing access to raw materials; that’s it.”
The contrast between the two countries’ approaches is reflected in their respective priorities. While the United States has concentrated on transport links that support access to critical minerals, China has pursued broader investments across ports, logistics infrastructure and industrial development.
Biden’s 2024 visit also carried diplomatic significance beyond economics. It sought in part to improve relations after decades of strained ties. Following Angola’s independence, the United States opposed the rise of the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and supported a rebel movement seeking to overthrow the government. Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were not established until 1993, nearly two decades after independence.
The Biden administration presented investment in Angola as supporting the United States’ broader energy transition, recognising that critical minerals are essential components in battery technologies and electric vehicles. According to Alex Vines, director of the Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, the project’s strategic significance has evolved under President Donald Trump.
“While the deal builds on groundwork laid under the Biden administration, its significance has sharpened under President Donald Trump,” Vines said. “It reflects a move away from climate-focused diplomacy towards a harder geoeconomic approach centred on critical mineral supply chains, regional trade integration and great power competition.”
Even as some officials in Washington discussed the possibility of drawing Angola closer to the United States, analysts noted that such ambitions underestimated the depth of China’s long-established relationship with Luanda. Although China briefly supported the MPLA before shifting its backing during Angola’s liberation struggle against Portugal, relations were restored after the ruling party took power, with diplomatic ties established by 1983.
The partnership expanded significantly during the presidency of Eduardo dos Santos, when China financed numerous infrastructure projects, in some cases through arrangements linked to Angola’s oil exports. That cooperation has continued under President Joao Lourenco, who assumed office in 2017. During a visit to China in 2024, Lourenco directed bilateral discussions towards mining, agriculture and industrial development projects aimed at diversifying Angola’s economy beyond oil. The two countries also elevated their relationship to the status of a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”, among the highest levels of diplomatic engagement.
Against this backdrop, the Barra do Dande agreement highlights the differing models through which Beijing and Washington are seeking influence in Angola. While the United States continues to prioritise strategic access to critical minerals through transport infrastructure, China is broadening its position through long-term investment in ports, logistics and industrial development. According to Olander, despite any preference in Washington to see Chinese influence reduced, there is little indication that the United States will respond directly to the latest announcement, leaving Beijing’s infrastructure-led approach to continue shaping one of Africa’s most strategically significant economies.
