Africa-Press. In the first state visit by an African president to China this year, Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo concluded an official tour that extended from April 16 to 22, culminating in talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which resulted in the two countries raising their relations to the level of a “Chinese-Mozambican community with a shared future in the new era,” and signing more than 20 cooperation documents, according to what was reported by the official Chinese Xinhua Agency.
In their meeting, Xi described the relations between the two countries as a model of Chinese-African friendship and cooperation between countries of the Global South, stressing – according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement – his country’s readiness to align development strategies with Mozambique, and explore new paths of cooperation in infrastructure, energy and mineral development, in addition to developing new growth engines in agriculture, renewable energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.
For his part, Chapo – who assumed the presidency following elections in late 2024 – expressed his pride in being the first African leader to pay a state visit to China in 2026, and renewed his country’s “unconditional” adherence to the one China principle, declaring Mozambique’s support for the four global initiatives launched by Xi (development, security, civilization and global governance), as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation documents, including – according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry – the areas of the New Silk Road, security, trade, cultural exchanges, health care, and media. The two sides also issued a joint statement on the roadmap for building a “community of shared future” between the two countries.
Gas and the 5.4 billion threshold
According to an analysis published by the Chinese CGTN network, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries will reach $5.4 billion in 2025, with raw materials and semi-finished products dominating Mozambican exports.
The visit cannot be read in isolation from Mozambique’s position in the liquefied natural gas sector. The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation is participating in the giant Rovuma project led by ExxonMobil, for which the “force majeure” was lifted in November 2025 in preparation for a final investment decision in 2026, and the first shipments will be exported by 2030, according to the American Petroleum Technology magazine, which makes diplomacy with Beijing part of the engineering of the energy landscape in Southeast Africa.
Critical readings
However, the image of the “successful partnership” presented by the official statements is offset by more conservative readings, as Chapo himself had previously publicly presented in July 2025 – according to the “Further Africa” website – the idea of rescheduling part of his country’s debts with the “largest bilateral creditor”, in an explicit reference to China, amid the worsening external debt crisis that amounted to $9.8 billion at the end of 2024.
Data from the Central Bank of Mozambique also reveal, according to the Mozambique News Agency, that China’s share did not exceed 1.5% of foreign direct investment in the third quarter of 2025, in a striking gap between political discourse and numbers.
In addition, there is a sensitive political context, as opposition leader Venancio Mondalani challenges the legitimacy of Chapo’s election, and Western reports – including an analysis by the United States Institute of Peace – indicate that Beijing clearly stands in the camp of the ruling Frelimo party, and is not in a position to mediate a political settlement.
According to the China Daily newspaper, Xi used the meeting to go beyond the bilateral dimension, calling on China and Africa to work together to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East, and to resolve differences through dialogue on an equal footing, in reference to Beijing’s desire to employ its network of African relations within a broader position in the files of the international system.
The visit comes during the 2024 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, and intersects with the efforts of a new Mozambican president who seeks to diversify his country’s foreign partnerships, in light of security challenges in the Cabo Delgado region, and a huge reserve of gas that he is betting on to reset the path of growth and debt service.
