China has been hailed as an important infrastructure financing partner in Africa, as leaders on the continent call for stronger partnerships aligned with domestic industrial growth and greater mobilization of local capital.

Speaking with China Daily on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ahead of this year's African Union Summit this weekend, Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission, said China has contributed significantly to Africa's infrastructural development, which is crucial to the continent's sustainable progress.

She said this positions China as a strategic partner in efforts to bridge long-standing infrastructure gaps.

Mataboge emphasized that the future partnership can move beyond financing and focus on aligning with Africa's broader industrial ambitions through stronger local content requirements, skills transfer and domestic value addition.

Mataboge said that African governments still shoulder the bulk of infrastructure spending, while private sector investment remains limited. She called on African countries to leverage infrastructure development to boost sustainable growth.

To reduce reliance on public funding and external financing, she urged African states to unlock domestic financial resources, including pension funds and other capital pools often invested in low-risk instruments instead of productive infrastructure sectors.

According to the commissioner, an estimated $4.6 trillion in African financial resources exists but remains largely untapped for infrastructure development.

Through major partnerships such as the Belt and Road Initiative, China has invested extensively in Africa's infrastructure, including roads, transnational railways, bridges, ports and renewable energy, with a large number of landmark projects completed over the past decade.

The 39th African Union Summit will be held under the theme "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063", with leaders expected to discuss infrastructure investments to support long-term economic transformation across the continent.

Financing for future

While addressing a ministerial-level meeting on Wednesday, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf stressed the need for innovative financing mechanisms and stronger partnerships with the private sector and civil society to help the continent meet its development goals.

He reaffirmed that the African Continental Free Trade Area and AU institutions remain central to advancing Africa's integration agenda, supporting infrastructure expansion, industrial growth and cross-border trade.

Claver Gatete, under-secretary-general of the United Nations, also highlighted the important role of infrastructure to promote social and economic development in Africa, adding that water remains a serious challenge in many African countries.

"When viewed through an economic lens, access to water becomes a measure of productive readiness," Gatete said, noting that more than 300 million people across Africa still lack access to safe drinking water while nearly 780 million lack adequate sanitation.

He noted that water-related diseases, including cholera, diarrhea and typhoid, continue to claim lives across the continent, adding that the economic consequences are equally severe, as poor water and sanitation services reduce labor productivity, raise healthcare costs and discourage investment.

He said that without reliable water infrastructure, industrial zones struggle to compete, logistics hubs cannot scale efficiently and urban economies face limits to sustainable growth.

Gatete added that development must be viewed as an integrated system in which infrastructure, finance, trade and industrial policy operate together, with water standing alongside transport, energy and digital connectivity as a foundational input into economic production.

Mataboge urged member states to align national infrastructure plans with continental priorities to ensure continuity beyond electoral cycles and accelerate Africa's industrial transformation.

sharon@chinadailyafrica.com