China has been Gabon’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, with two-way trade reaching US$4.55 billion in 2022 – up more than 50.8 per cent year on year, according to Chinese customs data.

Gabon derives more than 60 per cent of its revenues from oil and manganese ore. Along with wood, these resources make up the bulk of Gabonese exports to China, which supplies Gabon with mechanical and electrical products, steel and cement.

But depleting oil reserves are driving a Gabonese push to replace its petroleum income by strategically positioning its forests, which cover more than 80 per cent of the country, as a sustainable alternative.

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Bongo’s first act on taking office in 2009 was to begin Gabon’s shift from a source of cheap raw materials to a supplier of finished products, with a ban on unprocessed timber exports.

Bongo succeeded his father, the country’s second president Omar Bongo Ondimba, whose 42-year rule included drastic measures to strike a balance between conservation and exploitation of Gabon’s forests.

In addition to expanding the processing of wood and other minerals, Gabon is also hoping to attract tourists drawn to its spectacular forest canopy and the elephants that live beneath it.

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow with the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University, said the first Chinese investments in Gabonese biodiversity projects and eco-tourism are already under way.

“The Gabonese government is keen to see more of this to decrease the country’s dependency on the export of primary commodities, such as crude oil and timber,” he said.

According to Zajontz, Libreville sees China as a strategic partner in its development plan. “So, we can expect the two leaders will use the state visit to announce further cooperation agreements.”

At the centre of Gabon’s forest economy are a dozen Chinese companies with logging concessions and more than 30 others processing the timber into furniture and other products.

The Chinese companies operate on more than 6 million hectares, controlling about 40 per cent of concessions and accounting for more than half of Gabon’s commercial logging areas.

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To accelerate investment in its timber processing industries, Gabon has set up special economic zones in partnership with Arise Group, offering several tax incentives.

Gabon has also started wooing tourists to its 13 national parks, building eco-tourism villages and promising visitors encounters with forest elephants, gorillas and buffalo in an area called the “Last Eden”.

The country is home to several other threatened animal species, including leopards and giant pangolins. Its fauna includes the Kevazingo tree – said to provide the world’s hardest and most expensive timber – which is protected from logging and export.

Another tree species, the Okuome, is widely used in Gabon to make plywood for the export market.

Gabon is one of three African non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. Beijing is hoping to consolidate its partnership with the continent to foster a peaceful ecosystem for development in Africa.

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“So, maintaining close relations seems rational for Beijing considering the geopolitics surrounding current conflicts and wars,” said Zajontz, who also lectures in international relations at the Technische Universität in Dresden.

Irrespective of Gabon’s status on the Security Council, “Beijing commonly stages mutual high-level state visits with smaller states as a demonstration of China’s commitment to the principle of sovereign equality”, he added.

Earlier this month, Bongo met the Chinese ambassador to Gabon Li Jinjin, who hailed the “profound traditional friendship” between the two countries.

Gabon’s capital Libreville is dotted with landmark buildings funded and built by China – including its Senate and National Assembly, radio and television centres and a stadium – as monuments to the China-Gabon relationship.

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China-funded infrastructure across Africa force difficult decisions for its leaders

China-funded infrastructure across Africa force difficult decisions for its leaders

In an interview with the Gabonese press in January, Li said China will support Gabon’s infrastructure development, with a focus on industrial cooperation in mining, forestry, agriculture and other advantageous fields for Gabon.

China has already been involved in building transport infrastructure in Gabon, including the Port Gentil-Omboue (PO) road which links the seaport with the country’s main roads network.

Li said China would help Gabon to use its own resources and transform its natural advantages into developmental results and enhance its independent capabilities.

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“The Chinese side is willing to support Chinese enterprises to discuss with the Gabonese side to participate in relevant cooperation through new models such as public-private partnership,” he said.

“China encourages Chinese enterprises to invest in Gabon and actively participate in the construction of special economic zones and industrial parks in Gabon.”

Li said China would also help Gabon to strengthen agricultural technology exchanges and achieve food self-sufficiency.

According to China’s embassy in Gabon, there are about 3,000 Chinese nationals in the country, working in the petroleum and mining fields, as well as in fisheries, forestry, catering, retail and infrastructure construction.