Togo’s China Pivot: Building a Strategic Gateway to the Sahel

As Togo’s President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbé concluded his eight-day visit to China on October 16, much of the geopolitical attention surrounding the deepening relationship between Lomé and Beijing naturally centered on China’s expanding commercial and strategic influence in West Africa. Yet an equally important question deserves attention: What does Togo stand to gain from its growing partnership with China? For Togo – a relatively small coastal country with significant maritime assets and ambitions to become a regional economic hub – China offers opportunities that extend beyond conventional bilateral cooperation. Togo is seeking to leverage its geographic position, particularly the strategic Port of Lomé, to strengthen domestic development while expanding its commercial influence across West Africa, including the landlocked countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). During the visit, both countries elevated their bilateral relations to a “China-Togo community with a shared future for the new era,” alongside agreements spanning agriculture, industry, infrastructure, finance, and security. From Togo’s perspective, three strategic opportunities stand out: building domestic productive capacity, consolidating its position as a maritime gateway to the Sahel, and expanding financial and strategic optionality. Moving Beyond Raw Commodity Exports One of the most important opportunities for Togo lies in leveraging Chinese investments, technology, and market access to accelerate domestic industrialization. The composition of Togo’s exports to China illustrates the challenge. According to U.N. Comtrade data reported by Togo, the country exported approximately $18.1 million in merchandise to China in 2025, compared with $14.8 million in 2024. Leading products included sesame seeds, unwrought aluminum alloys, cocoa beans, copper scraps, and manganese ores. These figures reveal an export relationship still heavily concentrated in primary commodities, metals, and limited processing activities. They also illustrate the considerable scope for Togo to capture economic value domestically. During this visit, Gnassingbé toured a smart farming park in Shaanxi, and the Third Institute of Oceanography in the coastal city of Xiamen. He further expressed that Togo will learn from China’s comprehensive production ecosystems as it pursues a sustainable blue economy. The significance of these engagements becomes clearer when considered alongside Togo’s existing industrial ambitions. At the Adétikopé Industrial Platform, a major industrial and logistics zone near Lomé, Chinese manufacturer Vivace Group inaugurated a building-materials factory in April 2025 following an investment of about $13.6 million. The facility has a reported annual production capacity of 10,000 tonnes and is intended to supply Togo and neighboring markets. These developments suggest that Chinese engagement could complement Togo’s efforts to establish a broader industrial production ecosystem rather than remain predominantly a channel for merchandise imports. China’s zero-tariff access arrangements for eligible African exports and the newly signed phytosanitary protocol for Togolese soybeans could further expand export opportunities. Position Lomé as the Gateway to the AES The second opportunity concerns Togo’s maritime geography and its potential to becomes an increasingly important commercial intermediary between China and the landlocked economies of the Sahel. The Port of Lomé is central to Togo’s development strategy. Its maritime facilities and the connections to inland transport corridors give the country a structural advantage in serving neighboring economies without direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. For the AES countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, reliable access to coastal infrastructure remains essential for international commerce, industrial supplies, and economic development. Togo’s ambition is to convert this geographic advantage into a durable regional logistic position. During his China visit, Gnassingbé emphasized maritime security, technological capacity, and the need to capture greater economic value from port activities. He spoke highly of China’s record in terms of global maritime governance. The China–Togo joint declaration similarly identified port cooperation, logistics infrastructure, and the development of Lomé as a West African commercial gateway as areas for further engagement. The timing is particularly significant because Togo and the AES have been pursuing closer customs and trade coordination to harmonize their customs and trade frameworks. Experts from the four nations met in Ouagadougou between October 12 and 14, while Gnassingbé was in China. Their objectives revolved around defining the interconnection of custom IT systems, the adoption of community regulations, and boosting capacity for customs administrations. The strategic benefits of these developments cause a multiplier effect especially in coordination with China. For Togo, the benefits could extend beyond port traffic to include warehousing, freight services, customs administration, logistics employment, industrial distribution, and greater regional diplomatic influence. However, Togo must compete with alternative coastal corridors through Benin, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Its advantage will ultimately depend on transport costs, customs efficiency, infrastructure reliability, and the security of inland routes. This is where Togo’s relationship with China could become strategically consequential. Chinese capabilities in logistics infrastructure, industrial system, and transport technology could complement domestic and regional investments, helping Togo strengthen its competitiveness as a gateway economy. Diversifying Togo’s Strategic and Economic Partnerships The third opportunity concerns Togo’s ability to use its relations with China to diversify development financing, strengthen financial connectivity, and expand its room for strategic maneuver. Chinese financing has already played a role in Togo’s infrastructure development. Research on China’s overseas lending estimated that Togo’s outstanding debt to Chinese creditors reached approximately $740 million in 2021. This figure demonstrates the scale of earlier financing relationships, although it does not represent Togo’s current outstanding obligations. During Gnassingbé’s visit, the Togolese government also announced an agreement providing partial cancellation of debt owed to China. Beyond conventional lending, the most significant new development concerns financial infrastructure. On October 10, the pan-African banking group Ecobank, headquartered in Lomé, signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to strengthen renminbi-denominated payment connectivity between China and African markets. With operations across 34 African countries, Ecobank provides a potentially important institutional bridge between Chinese financial infrastructure and African commercial networks. Gnassingbé reaffirmed Togo’s support for the One China principle, and both leaders spoke on the importance of connecting immediate security conditions to long-term development planning. The wider implications of these connections were expressed in the joint declaration on October 15 where Gnassingbé and Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered five main points as the foundation of the China-Togo community with a shared future for the new era. First was to undertake joint contribution towards the promotion of an orderly and equal multipolar world. Second was to work together to implement the Global Development Initiative. Third was to implement the Global Security Initiative. Fourth was to collaborate toward implementing the World Civilization Initiative and finally, to establish the Global Governance Initiative. By maintaining economic connectivity with the landlocked Sahel while deepening its engagement with China, Togo is positioning itself as an increasingly important intermediary in the region’s evolving economic architecture. However, the success of this strategy will ultimately depend on Togo’s ability to convert diplomatic agreements into financed projects, domestic technical capabilities, efficient institutions and productive economic activity.