Japan, China and the race for Africa’s critical minerals

Between 29 April and 6 May, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi visited Zambia, Angola, Kenya and South Africa. At a press conference the day before his departure, he said: “I intend to enhance cooperation and collaboration to strengthen supply chain resilience by pursuing resource diplomacy with African countries that are rich in critical minerals and other resources.”

FOIP and Africa outreach

Motegi said cooperation with countries of the Global South that are gaining a greater voice in the international community — particularly those in Africa, one of the key regions — is becoming increasingly important. He added that in Kenya, where Japan proposed the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” in 2016, he would deliver a speech on the evolution of FOIP, marking the tenth anniversary of its launch this year, as well as on Japan’s diplomacy towards Africa based on this evolution, with the aim of sharing Japan’s approach and initiatives.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also touched on the updated FOIP vision in her speech during her visit to Vietnam on 2 May. In addition to the core concepts traditionally associated with FOIP — freedom, openness, diversity, inclusiveness and the rule of law — the evolved FOIP vision will adapt to changes of the times by placing greater emphasis on strengthening the resilience of supply chains for critical materials, undersea cables, data centres, and other new economic infrastructure for the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and data. It will also promote solving social challenges and achieving economic growth through integrated public-private cooperation, while enhancing capabilities and strengthening cooperation in the field of security. 

In his speech in Nairobi on 3 May, Motegi also repeatedly stressed the further development of the FOIP vision. The fact that Japan once again used the TICAD6 (Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 2016) venue for the government to disseminate a key diplomatic message also shows that this was one of the major objectives of the series of visits.

Strategic race for Lobito Corridor

Zambia and Angola, which were both part of the trip, are well known as resource-rich nations. Northern Zambia contains the Copperbelt region, which produces copper, cobalt and other critical minerals. Angola, meanwhile, is one of Africa’s major oil-producing countries and possesses abundant diamond and rare earth resources. In the past, it maintained extremely close economic ties with China, which has shown a strong interest in Angolan crude oil.

In recent years, as the development potential of cobalt resources in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has attracted widespread attention, the US and the European Union have also actively participated in the construction of the Lobito Corridor linking Angola, the DRC and Zambia. The project includes the restoration of the approximately 1,300-kilometre Lobito Atlantic Railway (formerly the Benguela Railway), as well as plans to build a new rail branch extending about 800 kilometres into Zambia. At the same time, the project encompasses large-scale solar power projects in Angola and Zambia, as well as cooperation on digital infrastructure such as fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications networks.

South Africa and Japan’s FOIP vision

In his speech in Kenya, besides discussing the further development of FOIP, Motegi also referred to the three pillars of Japan’s diplomacy towards Africa: “realising a continent of peace in Africa”, “creating a virtuous cycle of growth between Africa and Japan”, and “realising a society where everyone can genuinely feel prosperity, through empowering young-generation co‑creation”. This once again reaffirmed the core message conveyed at last year’s Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9): that Japan and Africa are partners in jointly creating the future.

South Africa, the final stop on Motegi’s trip, has been perceived as experiencing a certain degree of tension and deterioration in its relations with the US since the Trump administration took office. During meetings there with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, Motegi said that South Africa, which shares the core principles of the FOIP vision, is an important partner for Japan, and that both sides would continue advancing bilateral relations and cooperation in international forums. As one of the African countries hosting many active Japanese companies, both sides agreed to strengthen public-private cooperation to improve the resilience of critical mineral supply chains, as well as deepen cooperation in South Africa’s energy transition and decarbonisation efforts.

The long game in Africa

Coinciding with Motegi’s African tour, China’s General Administration of Customs announced on 28 April that from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2028, imports from 20 eligible African countries would enjoy zero tariffs. Together with the 33 African countries that had already received tariff-free treatment for all tariff categories since 1 December 2024, China will effectively implement zero tariffs on imports from all African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. Besides differentiating itself from US tariff policies, the move also appears to subtly respond to Japan’s evolving FOIP vision centred on economic security.

Going forward, not only Japan and China, but also other countries are expected to continue strengthening ties with Africa based on their respective strategic considerations. In this sense, it is necessary to emphasise that Motegi’s visit was not a one-off event, but rather one episode in Japan’s long-term engagement with African affairs.

At an extraordinary press conference in South Africa, Motegi referred to “strengthening relationships of trust with African countries in the long term”. Whether the direction indicated by those remarks can be sustained will merit continued attention. Most importantly, how private-sector companies — which will in the future bear responsibility for strengthening the resilience of critical mineral supply chains in Africa — conduct their business operations will be the key to realising the further development of the FOIP vision.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as ““自由开放的印度太平洋”构想与日非关系”.

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