China’s growing investments in Cabo Verde are evident in the everyday lives of the West African nation’s citizens. From safer streets and a modern maternity hospital, to the increasingly sustainable ways in which electricity is generated.

Text Fei Pou Lou

Nearly 50 years after establishing diplomatic relations, China and Cabo Verde are continuously deepening cooperation in trade, infrastructure, technology and health. Most recently, bilateral relations have been nurtured by a strategic partnership the two countries announced in September 2024.

This year began with a major step forward: China pledged an additional US$28.5 million in support for the West African nation, which is home to about 525,000 people, according to World Bank figures from 2024. The funds are being used to advance projects in security, renewable energy, tourism and infrastructure. China’s commitment to the investment was made at last year’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Beijing – and was inked at the Chinese Embassy in Cabo Verde’s capital in January. Since 2000, FOCAC has convened every three years, bringing together around 300 Chinese and foreign representatives, including delegates from 53 African countries and regional organisations.

At the signing ceremony in Praia, Shi Leike, counsellor and chargé d'affaires at the Chinese Embassy, said the funding would help Cabo Verde “achieve its objectives in the priority areas.” The Portuguese-speaking country, an archipelago lying 500 kilometres off the west coast of Senegal, has made significant strides in socioeconomic progress in recent years. It was reclassified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country in July, largely thanks to strong growth in its tourism sector – which accounts for about 40 percent of total employment.

A portion of the funds will support the third phase of Cabo Verde’s Cidade Segura (‘Safe City’ in English) initiative. This aims to improve public safety by expanding and modernising the video surveillance system in seven cities: Praia, Mindelo, Sal Rei, Santa Maria, Tarrafal, Assomada and Porto Novo. The initiative, a collaboration between the Cape Verdean government and China’s Huawei Technologies, also includes technical training for local personnel and upgrades to surveillance command centres.

‘An ever-increasing spirit of cooperation’

Nuno Furtado, Cabo Verde’s delegate to Forum Macao, describes China’s partnership with his country as “solid and practical.” The diplomat tells Macao magazine that relations between the two countries have been evolving in ways that are vital to Cabo Verde’s development. Forum Macao is a multilateral platform established by China in 2003 to promote economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries, using Macao as a bridge. It supports collaboration across sectors like trade, investment, education and culture.

"This is a good time to make a positive assessment of our political-diplomatic relationship, based on principles of mutual respect, solidarity and reciprocal benefits,” Furtado says. “Our active participation in bilateral and multilateral mechanisms with China, such as Forum Macao, is a clear reflection of our commitment to intensifying this cooperation.”

According to Furtado, the future looks bright for bilateral relations. “[We are seeing] an ever-increasing spirit of cooperation and a shared vision of sustainable and mutually beneficial development,” he says. "The ties that we have been building for almost five decades are based on mutual trust, respect and shared benefits, and have shown a stable and positive evolution.” Furtado also notes that the two countries’ strategic partnership demonstrates an intent to expand current levels of cooperation and explore new areas of common interest.

A new maternity hospital

Health is one of the oldest and most active areas of Cabo Verde-China cooperation. In 2024, the two nations marked 40 years of work in the sector. This has included the training of specialists, equipment donations, infrastructure upgrades and the regular deployment of Chinese medical teams to the archipelago.

The new maternity unit at Baptista de Sousa Hospital on São Vicente Island is a recent feat in medical cooperation. Built by a team of Cabo Verdean and Chinese workers that included about 200 local hires, the 5,768-square-metre facility opened in July with 150 beds. It offers paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology services, emergency care for mothers and children, an outpatient clinic, intensive care units and a surgical centre. 

"This is an initiative with great social impact, which strengthens the national health system and contributes directly to the well-being of the population, especially women and children", Furtado notes.

Speaking at its groundbreaking in December 2023, then-Chinese Ambassador to Cabo Verde Xu Jie noted that Cabo Verde’s government prioritised “improving the quality of life of its people” and recognised the importance of cooperation in achieving that.

In May 2024, the two countries signed a six-year agreement to strengthen medical collaboration. The protocol promotes global development initiatives and aims to improve Cabo Verde’s medical response capacity.

Energy and innovation

China and Cabo Verde have formed successful partnerships in the fields of renewable energy, education and digital infrastructure. Furtado describes these  projects as part of a strategic vision that’s seen China "respond in a concrete way to the needs identified [in order to] strengthen our country's institutional and technical capacity.” China has helped build the country’s data storage and processing capacity, for example.  Meanwhile, Cabo Verde’s public electricity company, Electra, established a partnership with the Chinese firm Hexing to install smart electricity metres. These are intended to modernise the grid, improve billing and boost efficiency.

Though small in size, Cabo Verde has strong potential for generating renewable energy due to its year-round sunshine, access to the sea and active volcano. China’s approach to the country increasingly reflects opportunities in this area. The Chinese-backed maritime economic zone in São Vicente, for instance, offers tax incentives to companies coming up with solutions using sustainable techniques to harness wave energy.

The Cabeólica wind farm project, meanwhile, consists of wind farms on four islands: Santiago, São Vicente, Sal and Boa Vista. Chinese contractors installed the Danish-made turbines, which aim to stabilise and diversify Cabo Verde’s power supply through reducing the need to import expensive fossil fuels. 

China is also helping Cabo Verde to reach its goal of having 100 percent electric vehicles on the islands’ roads by 2050. The first electric cars from JAC Motors arrived in 2020 and are supported by 55 charging stations across the islands.

In the digital sector, China backs the development of Praia’s Technology Park – a startup hub encouraging digital innovation and data-driven solutions in the country. It offers companies tax incentives and other benefits to stimulate growth and attract investment. The park fosters collaboration between the University of Cabo Verde and Huawei, facilitating student exchanges focused on technology and data science. 

Furtado describes Cabo Verde as building “an attractive business climate” with tax and customs incentives for investors. He adds that Forum Macao helps Cabo Verde “attract direct investment in sectors of mutual interest” through the key role it plays in allowing Chinese companies to understand the country’s legal and economic environment. 

—

Connecting Through Language and Community

Cultural and educational exchanges now play a central role in the growing relationship between China and Cabo Verde. Language is an important part of this and, in 2015, the Confucius Institute was established at the University of Cabo Verde. The introduction of Chinese language courses in the country’s secondary schools soon followed.

On 17 April, the university hosted a ceremony for International Chinese Language Day, organised by the Confucius Institute and attended by diplomatic, academic and business representatives. “Learning Chinese means opening a window to the future,” Shi Leike, of the Chinese Embassy in Cabo Verde, said at the ceremony. “We hope that more and more Cabo Verdean friends will join the journey of learning this language, using the power of language to seize opportunities, broaden horizons and build a foundation for personal and professional progress.”

In June, the Chinese and Overseas Charity Foundation was launched in Cabo Verde. The foundation aims to support vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities while promoting the traditional Chinese cultural values of solidarity and brotherhood. It also aspires to strengthen ties between the Chinese and Cabo Verdean communities.