In April 1976, China established diplomatic relations with Cape Verde, a West African country. In the ensuing years, relations remained polite and respectful, but cultural exchanges and rare visits to Cape Verde by mid-ranking Chinese officials were the mainstays. China has few economic interests in the 300,000-strong archipelago nation, and the islands’ complete lack of natural resources made them a low priority in Chinese foreign policy. Despite this, China maintained a diplomatic presence to prevent Taiwan from gaining access.
With the advent of Chinese small-scale private investors in the mid-1990s, China’s involvement in Cape Verde began to grow. Their numbers were small initially, but as the local economy grew and word of their success spread, their numbers grew rapidly. This investment pattern contrasts sharply with that witnessed in oil-rich nations such as Angola and Sudan, where major state-owned Chinese firms led the way. Typically, the owner of a small business (baihuo in Chinese) – generally the family patriarch – would relocate to Cape Verde with the help of a male relative. They established the company, and if things went well, they invited other family members to join them in expanding and diversifying the firm.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is building a national parliament, a government palace, a national stadium, a national library, and a national auditorium. It is funding the construction of two dams, which is a much-needed project given Cape Verde’s acute water scarcity. China is contributing a fleet of ships to connect Cape Verde’s light scattered and poorly connected islands, as well as 100 scholarships for Cape Verdean students and regular deployment of an eight-member medical team to Praia hospital, the country’s major health facility. It has promised to create a fisheries processing facility and invest heavily in the industry. Cape Verde’s bilateral debt has also been eliminated by China.
AFCFTA
The AfCFTA, which was signed in March 2018, went into effect on January 1, 2021, among nations that had ratified it and made market access bids.
As of December 2020, 34 countries had ratified the Agreement: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic
In terms of goods trade, Cape Verde would benefit from preferential access only on those products for which the rules of origin have been negotiated as per Annex IV upon the Agreement’s entry into force.
Cape Verde is an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean that was a Portuguese colony from 1460 to 1975. It is part of the Macaronesian group of islands. The EU/Cape Verde Special Partnership, which was established in 2007, is based on six pillars:
- Effective Governance
- Safety and stability
- Regional cohesion
- Convergence of technical and regulatory standards
- A society that is built on knowledge
- Poverty alleviation and economic development
In 2014, a Security and Stability Action Plan was announced, as well as a Mobility Partnership.
Cape Verde is a member of ECOWAS, an African regional grouping aiming for internal integration akin to that of the EU. Cape Verde cannot be a member of both organizations at the same time, even though it does not currently participate in all of ECOWAS’ activities. It is also a member of the African Union, which aims to create a single African currency, a single African defense force, and an African Union head of state.
Angola, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, So Tomé, and Principe are among the nations that benefit from the EU’s regional cooperation program with Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP).
