The head of foreign affairs at the OECD considered Wednesday that the relationship between China and the African continent is unbalanced, with African countries losing advantages in the commercial and financial relationship with the Asian giant.

"In 2019, there was a decrease in Chinese loans to Africa, there is a more commercial logic, but in that commercial balance there is a deficit, because Africa can't export to China," Ana Fernandes said.

The head of the Foresight, External Relations, and Policy Reform Unit at the Development Cooperation Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was speaking at the Lisbon Speed Talks, organized by the Lisbon Club in partnership with the Lisbon Chamber and the Instituto Marquês de Valle Flor (IMVF).

Ana Fernandes stressed that exporting African products to China "could be a great opportunity in this phase of recovery from the pandemic, but China's rules are against imports and the new global partnership with the rest of the world further reinforces the idea that China wants to invest in the domestic market and avoid importing products from other continents.

In Ana Fernandes' opinion, there is "a loss in the strategic relationship" between Africa and China, to the detriment of African countries.

Still, the numbers on Chinese involvement on the continent are voluminous: "China invests more in infrastructure than everyone else, including Japan, which is the largest investor in the OECD," she said, lamenting the lack of transparency and reliable data on Chinese investment on the continent.

"China, in terms of official development assistance, contributed in 2019 $4.8 to $7.9 billion, and if you look at the $4.8 billion, it is on par with Sweden, which is one of the largest contributors, but if you look at the $7.9 billion, it is already on par with Japan," he explained.

This, he continued, "is a clear sign that China wants to invest more in an international partnership relationship that goes beyond the logic of concessional lending and start having an impact on other areas of cooperation, such as education, climate or security."

China's strong focus on Africa, however, has changed over the past few years, and "it has become less visible what Africa gains from this relationship," the OECD official said.

"There is a long-term relationship, less bureaucratic and more flexible, with China being present when necessary, but there is great concern that China wants to dominate key productive sectors, such as digital, which is fundamental for democracy in Africa," he argued.

Africa, he concluded, must attend the next high-level meeting with China "with an agenda of requests and demands on what is so far perceived as 'win-win' [where both parties gain from the relationship], and it is not clear what the 'win-win' of this relationship is, it lacks balance and African populations are beginning to realize this."