Chapo Invites Chinese Companies to Industrialize Mozambique During Visit to China
From 16 to 22 April 2026, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo conducted a state visit to China. The visit occurs during the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Actually, Mozambique achieved independence in 1975 and immediately established diplomatic ties with China.
In Beijing, Mozambican President Chapo and Chinese President Xi witnessed the signing of 23 agreements in a variety of fields, covering trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, technology, social welfare, and security.
In 2025, bilateral trade volume reached USD 5.4 billion, up 3.6% year-on-year. The main export of Mozambique to China is ilmenite, a titanium ore, followed by natural gas and coal. Mozambique also supplies to China ores containing several critical minerals, including niobium, zirconium, vanadium, and tantalum. Furthermore, 60% of China’s graphite imports originate from Mozambique.
President Chapo emphasized that he wished to evolve the Mozambique-China bilateral partnership from the traditional trade and investment to include technological transfer and local production while paying attention to sustainable development. To this end, he visited the industrial machinery plants in Hunan province and the renewable energy project in Qinghai province.
In particular, he visited the Sany and Zoomlion factories in Hunan. Additionally, he also held positive meetings with Wasion and Willfar. During the China – Mozambique Business Forum, he delivered the keynote address and invited Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Mozambique.
In Qinghai, he saw how the local communities improved their lives through involvement in mini-hydro projects. He invited civil contractors to undertake infrastructure projects under the #BOT model. Building dams in Mozambique is a high priority as it could potentially kill two birds with one stone: provide water and generate electricity.
China is deeply involved in the Mozambican gas sector. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) holds a 20% stake in the Mozambique Rovuma Venture- in partnership with ExxonMobil and Eni — which is developing the Rovuma onshore #LNG and operating the Coral South Floating LNG platform. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has rights to five offshore blocks in the Save and Angoche areas, and drilling officially started in March 2026.