By Kemi Osukoya | The Africa Bazaar Magazine
At an air base in Busan, South Korea, the world’s two most powerful leaders shook hands—and briefly hit pause on one of the most consequential trade rivalries of our time. U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping emerged from their 105-minute meeting with smiles, handshakes, and a fragile deal that could ripple far beyond Washington and Beijing—deep into Africa’s mines, ports, and emerging industries.
Trump called it “a great victory.” Xi called it “stability.” But in truth, the so-called truce between the U.S. and China is less a peace treaty than a tactical timeout—one that may redefine how Africa fits into the global economic order.
Beijing’s Quiet Win
The agreement slashes U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods by 10 percent and delays new American export controls that would have barred dozens of Chinese firms from accessing U.S.
technology. For Beijing, this pause is a lifeline. It buys time to strengthen domestic innovation and to secure the global supply chains that keep its industrial machine running.
Among China’s key pressure points was its implicit threat to restrict exports of rare earth minerals—vital materials used in semiconductors, electric vehicles, and defense technology. That threat worked. Washington backed down, and in return, Beijing promised only temporary restraint.
Experts say the optics of “China buying American again” plays well domestically, especially with rural voters and exporters as well as calms markets, which helps avoid another market-shaking escalation.
Trump’s Victory
President Trump walked away able to declare victory on “keeping China in check,”— he got Beijing to resume large-scale U.S. agricultural commodities—soybeans, offering immediate relief to U.S. farmers who have been among the hardest hit by the trade war.
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Experts say the optics of “China buying American again” plays well domestically, especially with rural voters and exporters as well as calms markets, which helps avoid another market-shaking escalation.
While there were no major technology concessions., or structural reforms on industrial subsidies or intellectual property—the very issues that triggered the original trade war and no clarity on TikTok or digital sovereignty issues, both major flashpoints in the U.S.–China competition, the truce— billed by U.S. top trade negotiators Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Administrator Jamieson Greer as a one-year “rolling agreement,” sets the stage for ongoing negotiations, giving both sides a way to claim progress without locking into a long-term deal.
Africa: The Third Player
Nowhere will the effects of this power play be felt more sharply than in Africa.
Over the past decade, China has poured billions of dollars into mining operations across the continent—cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lithium in Zimbabwe, and rare earths in Tanzania and South Africa. These minerals are the lifeblood of the global clean-energy transition, and their extraction has turned Africa into a silent partner in the U.S.–China rivalry.
With Xi securing relief from tariffs and export scrutiny, Chinese firms are expected to double down on African mining ventures to safeguard future supply. The move could delay Western investments in similar projects, potentially locking African producers deeper into China’s orbit.
“China’s success in this deal gives Beijing breathing space—and that means it won’t loosen its grip on Africa’s mineral base anytime soon,” says a commodities analyst.
The American Catch-Up Game
Experts say while the White House insists that the new trade framework will “level the playing field,” Washington’s actions suggest a narrower goal: stabilizing U.S. supply chains, not expanding influence in Africa where the U.S. has long struggled to match China’s long-term financing model, which ties infrastructure and trade to political goodwill.
Yet this truce could serve as a wake-up call, experts say. As Beijing cements control over strategic minerals, American firms—especially in clean tech, aerospace, and defense—will need new, diversified suppliers. This opens a window for Africa, if governments can position themselves not merely as exporters of raw ore but as processing and manufacturing hubs.
As Washington and Beijing pull back from the brink of another trade war, Africa is quietly emerging as the next strategic frontier in their economic chess game.
Experts say China may have delayed its rare earth export restrictions, but the message was clear: Beijing controls the world’s critical minerals—and the leverage that comes with them. That’s put new urgency in U.S. and European efforts to diversify supply chains away from China—and much of that diversification is now pointing toward Africa.
From cobalt in the DRC to graphite in Mozambique and platinum in South Africa, Africa holds the minerals the U.S. needs to power its clean energy and defense ambitions. The Biden and now Trump administrations have each launched frameworks to secure these materials,—the Lobito Corridor, which runs from Angola to DRC, Tanzania and Zambia is one examples of that transatlantic critical minerals supply chain framework. However the renewed China–U.S. rivalry means competition for access will only intensify.
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Mineral-rich nations on the continent now face a strategic dilemma: how to turn global volatility into national advantage. Some, like Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, are already imposing bans on raw mineral exports to force local beneficiation. Others, like the DRC, are renegotiating mining deals to ensure more value stays within national borders. Nigeria recently puts in place in laws safeguarding its rare earths.
If African governments can coordinate policies, attract green-energy manufacturing, and secure fairer partnerships, experts say the continent could transform from a passive resource supplier into an active player shaping the next industrial revolution.
But the clock is ticking, experts underscore. The U.S.–China truce is valid for just one year—and both sides have histories of backtracking. Should tensions flare again, Africa’s fragile supply-chain gains could evaporate overnight.
The Busan meeting underscores how deeply Africa’s economic destiny is entangled in superpower politics. China’s mining footprint, America’s technology exports, and global demand for green minerals all converge on the continent’s soil. Each new handshake—or threat—between Washington and Beijing reverberates from Wall Street to the Copperbelt.
For now, Africa’s leaders are watching the superpowers play chess. But the next move, if played strategically, could finally put the continent in control of its own board.
