In global diplomacy, few relationships have been as loudly celebrated and quietly lopsided, as that between China and Africa. Beijing calls it an “all-weather friendship,” filled with pledges of infrastructure, trade, and South-South cooperation. Yet, a closer look reveals a more uncomfortable truth: China wants Africa’s minerals, markets, and strategic leverage, but not its people.

As of May 2025, China has waived visa requirements for dozens of countries. Yet, out of the 54 African nations, only two – Mauritius and Seychelles – enjoy mutual visa exemption agreements with China. That’s right. The entire continent, home to over 1.4 billion people, is largely locked out of the so-called “Middle Kingdom,” while Chinese citizens can freely walk into a growing list of African countries with little more than a passport.

Let’s call this what it is: geopolitical disrespect dressed up as diplomacy.

While Africans open their borders, grant visa-on-arrival privileges, and even offer 90-day visa-free stays to Chinese nationals, Beijing slams its gates shut. From Nigeria to Ghana, from Malawi to Mozambique, African countries have gone out of their way to make life easy for Chinese visitors. And yet, the gesture is not reciprocated.

This is not an accident. It is strategy. China’s foreign policy in Africa is not built on partnership but on extraction. From cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo to bauxite in Guinea, oil in Angola to timber in Gabon, Africa is a supermarket of raw materials for China’s industrial machine. And like any imperial customer, China wants cheap access, minimal questions, and maximum control.

Africa has become a geopolitical chessboard in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a vast network of debt diplomacy, port acquisitions, and opaque infrastructure deals. Yet, while China has invested billions into roads, bridges, and railways, it has invested little into respect. Not for African citizens. Not for African autonomy. And certainly not for African mobility.

If this is what “all-weather friendship” looks like, then it’s time to bring an umbrella.

Visa access isn’t just about tourism. It’s about dignity. It’s about acknowledging that Africans are not mere suppliers of commodities, but human beings with the right to explore, trade, study, and engage on equal footing. When China denies that right while simultaneously exploiting our resources, it signals loud and clear: We want your land, not your people.

And we must also point the finger at ourselves. African leaders have allowed this imbalance to flourish. They sign lopsided deals. They accept opaque loans. They host summits and parrot empty slogans about “mutual benefit.” But the truth is, there is no mutual benefit without mutual respect. And respect begins with reciprocity.

It’s time we stopped accepting second-class treatment on the global stage. Africa must demand more. Not just roads and ports, but agency. Not just loans, but leverage. If China wants access to our markets and minerals, it must also open its doors to our people. Anything less is exploitation.

China doesn’t take African leadership seriously because, too often, our leaders don’t take themselves seriously. That must change. We are not beggars at the gate. We are not pawns in a global power game. We are a continent of nations, with power, pride, and purpose.

Until then, let’s stop calling it friendship. It’s just another form of empire.