China announced on Friday that it will strengthen cooperation with Namibia across the energy, agriculture, infrastructure and mineral resources sectors, following talks held in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a seven-day official visit to China, her first state visit outside Africa since taking office, seeking to attract investment from the world’s second-largest economy and largest international creditor to help deliver on electoral pledges of job creation and economic diversification.
‘In Namibia, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to this longstanding friendship with China,’ the head of state said, noting that her delegation includes dozens of business executives.
‘Your decision to choose China as the first destination for a state visit outside Africa after assuming the presidency demonstrates the importance you attach to this strategic relationship, and for that I express my appreciation,’ Xi Jinping said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah was inaugurated in 2025, extending 34 years of rule by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), the party that led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. The electoral victory came despite analyst doubts over the party’s prospects amid growing public discontent over high unemployment and inequality.
China and Namibia signed eight documents during the visit, including cooperation agreements on green minerals and an economic partnership framework accord.
‘Beijing is willing to deepen cooperation with Windhoek in the areas of infrastructure, energy, mining, agriculture, education, youth, science and technology,’ a statement issued by China’s state news agency Xinhua said following the meeting.
According to a joint declaration cited by Xinhua, ‘both sides recognise the strategic value of critical minerals and agreed to strengthen cooperation in the development of key resources, including uranium, lithium and rare earths.’
The document also underscores the importance of promoting local processing of mineral resources — a priority recently championed by several African commodity producers — as well as technology transfer and the development of local skills.
Rich in natural resources, Namibia could become Africa’s fourth-largest oil producer by 2030 after Shell and TotalEnergies discovered estimated reserves of 2.6 billion barrels of crude and announced plans to begin production.
Neighbouring Angola currently produces around 1.1 million barrels of oil per day and has used sector revenues to finance a China-backed economic restructuring, while simultaneously seeking to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
China is one of Namibia’s principal export markets, absorbing roughly one quarter of the country’s total exports, according to a recent International Monetary Fund report. Of the US$1.3 billion in Namibian goods purchased by China last year, 85% comprised uranium.
According to data from the American Enterprise Institute, Chinese companies have invested US$4.2 billion in Namibia, with only US$100 million of that total directed outside the metals sector.
In her inauguration speech, Nandi-Ndaitwah called for a ‘green revolution’ anchored in the economic development of the country’s agriculture and water resources.
The IMF, for its part, has argued that structural reforms will be essential to generate broader employment, highlighting agriculture, fisheries and the emerging oil, natural gas and green hydrogen sectors as drivers of economic growth.
Source: Diário Económico
