Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Oarrived in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong China on Sunday for a week-long state visit, kicking off her first official visit to the Asian country since taking office in March last year. Through the visit, scheduled to run from July 5-11 President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s first female leader seeks to deepen her country’s economic and strategic partnerships with China. As reported by the Namibian, the country’s foremost newspaper, “[The president said] she had deliberately chosen Guangzhou as her point of entry into China because of its significant economic profile and expressed confidence that the visit would create valuable opportunities for the Namibian delegation and accompanying business community,” the Presidency says. Home to one of the world’s youngest population with more than 70 percent of its residents under the age of 35, Namibia which also faces high unemployment (36.9 percent) with youth unemployment rate hovering around (44.4 percent), aims to turn its demographic boom into dividends. Under the leadership of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia guided by its 6th National Development Plan (2025/26 to 2029/30), which positions human capital at the heart of its development agenda, prioritizes value addition and structural economic transformation, the country aims to leverage its relations with key partners including China to accelerate its transition from raw materials extraction to industrialization.

Namibia and China established diplomatic relations in 1990 and since then Beijing has backed Windhoek’s multiple National Development Plans across various industries. For example, in 2014 China and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations signed a two-year tripartite cooperation agreement worth about $1.5 million to support the effort of local farmers in Namibia. By the end of the project, China had deployed 15 experts under the South-South Cooperation Strategic Partnership which supported the implementation of Namibia’s 4th National Development Plan (NDP 4) and the Green Scheme Policy, helping to boost rice yields by more than 10 percent at Kalimbeza, one of the country’s flagship agricultural initiatives. Again, in a bid to support Namibia’s push to become Southern Africa’s logistics and supply chain hub connecting global trade lanes to more than 300 million consumers in the region, China’s contribution in modernizing and expanding the country’s transport infrastructure including the Walvis Bay Port has helped lower transport costs and reduced travel time. For example in November last year, Namibia opened to traffic the china-aided Dr. Hage G. Geingob Freeway in its capital Windhoek, a landmark regional transport facility , that has helped truncate travel time between downtown Windhoek and Hosea Kutako International Airport from 50 minutes to just 20 minutes.

At present, China is Namibia’s largest source of foreign direct investment, accounting for about 30 percent of total flows with more than 50 Chinese companies operating in various sectors including manufacturing, mining and renewable-energy industries. Compared to decades ago, Namibia’s partnership with China presently has shifted from a focus on resource extraction to industrialization, agriculture modernization and value addition. For example, last year Namibia witnessed a milestone in its space science capacity, thanks to the China-aided satellite ground data receiving station and processing system now operational in Windhoek. The facility, which is China’s first high-tech development assistance project in Namibia helps the Southern African country improve evidence-based decision-making across various economic sectors. During the visit, discussions between the two parties expected to elevate China-Namibia relations to new heights, focuses mainly on deepening bilateral ties in key areas including trade, agriculture, mining, people-to-people exchanges as well as implementing the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027). As reiterated by President Xi Jinping during the 2024 FOCAC China is ready to work with Namibia and other African countries to implement the outcomes of the summit, promote common development and prosperity, and jointly build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. The two sides should strengthen the synergy of development strategies and create new cooperation highlights in areas such as agriculture, clean energy, infrastructure, energy, mineral resources, and science and technology.

Cityscape of Windhoek, Namibia, October 5 ,2024. /CFP

In the area of trade, the foundational bedrock of China-Namibia ties, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during the visit aims to leverage her country’s longstanding relations with Beijing to facilitate easier market access via initiative such as the zero-tariff policy. In 2025 China-Namibia trade volume reached $1.85 billion, up 35.72 percent compared to the previous year. For Namibia, trade with China connects local enterprises and entrepreneurs to global value chains, helping to expand consumer base, generate foreign exchange and foster job creation. By granting duty-free market access for African goods, China’s zero-tariff policy incentivizes Namibia’s transition from raw materials export to value addition locally. With this window of opportunity, Namibia could further expand its economic diversification programs, build resilience against volatile commodity prices, broaden the country’s export basket, create high-paying jobs and establish a solid foundation for equitable, long-term growth.