While he has still not formalized his long-awaited visit in France, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has taken the road to Beijing. After Moscow in mid-June, the Algerian president concludes, Friday, July 21, a state visit that began Monday in China at the invitation of Xi Jinping, his first since his accession to the presidency.

This trip seems to be the logical continuation of his tour, because what Abdelmadjid Tebboune wants more than anything is to push the door of the very select club of Brics, the economic group bringing together the emerging powers (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) that he courted in an assumed way.

When he came to power in 2019, President Tebboune did not hide his desire to give weight to his country and mark the return of Algiers on the international scene.

"China, Algeria's first partner ahead of the France"

The purpose of this visit was first and foremost a way to ratify trade relations between the African country and the Chinese giant and to extend this partnership to new areas: nineteen agreements were signed between Algeria and China in the sectors of trade, telecommunications, rail transport and agriculture.

The economic partnership between the two countries is already very important, said Brahim Oumansour, director of the Maghreb Observatory at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Iris). "Last year, the two countries signed a major contract for the exploitation and processing of Algerian phosphate with the creation of a joint venture between the two states. A seven-billion-dollar project."

"In Algeria, China has won several infrastructure projects in the past," the researcher continues, listing the colossal projects, from the expansion of Algiers airport, to the east-west highway, including the construction of the new building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the military sector, China is the second largest arms supplier after Russia.

This visit to China "is part of the desire to strengthen this Sino-Algerian economic cooperation, which has continued to intensify over the past twenty years," said Brahim Oumansour. China is now Algeria's leading partner ahead of France with a 17% share of the Algerian market for China and about ten for France," he said.

Algiers is seeking to revitalize its economy after a long period of recession and shows a willingness to push Chinese investment in order to "diversify its production in Algeria to get out of its dependence on hydrocarbons which represent 60% of revenues and 97% of its exports", concludes the Iris researcher.

What interests for China?

Beijing also has something to learn from this meeting: diversify its sources of energy supply. China produces gas itself, but not enough for its consumption and imports account for more than 40% of its needs.

In May, executives from Sonatrach, Algeria's national oil and gas company, had already visited China to discuss energy cooperation, according to Algeria's state-run news agency, Algeria Press Service, and, above all, sign a lucrative gas delivery contract with their Chinese partners.

However, according to Brahim Oumansour, it is not only for gas that China has a particular interest in Algeria. First, "the country is full of minerals such as phosphate, iron and rare earths.", explains the expert, but above all "Algeria is both at the gates of Africa and the European market, which is very strategic in its project of the new silk road", analyzes the researcher, referring to the pharamineux Chinese project of construction of port infrastructure, rail, land in the Mediterranean basin.

BRICS Objective

A month before the summit of the group of emerging powers and after the Russian green light, Abdelmadjid Tebboune came to solicit Beijing's support for its membership of BRICS.

It is first and foremost a personal issue for the Algerian president, according to Stéphane Ballong, Africa editor-in-chief at France 24. "The main reason is political: President Tebboune is coming to the end of his term, there is an election in December 2024, so it is very important for him to restore the image of his country internationally."

Beijing's support is all the more important as Algiers' candidacy suffers from some weaknesses. Economically, Algeria has some catching up to do to be able to push the door of the club of major emerging powers. "If we compare Algeria today to BRICS, in terms of industrialization and international trade, the country is a small player compared to the BRICS powers," says Stéphane Ballong. "For example, in 2021, Algerian exports amounted to 19 billion dollars and South Africa, which is the smallest exporter of BRICS, made three or even four times more than Algeria. "

See alsoAlgeria: Tebboune visits Beijing, the head of state wants Algeria's accession to the BRICS

The director of the Maghreb Observatory, Brahim Oumansour, also concedes weaknesses in the Algerian file: "There is a weakness of local production and structural reforms to be made (banking, port infrastructure, airport, rail etc.). In addition, the country has delays in the integration of the world market, especially with regard to currency exchange."

"Algeria has very good relations with Russia, China and South Africa. It remains to convince the Brazilians, with whom Algerians have relations that can be described as friendly within the framework of the solidarity of the countries of the South," said Brahim Oumansour. "But for Indians and Brazilians, it will have to provide guarantees of important structural reforms if it wants to return to BRICS," says the researcher, concluding in these terms: "Algeria has its chances, but it is not a foregone conclusion."

The Algerian candidacy in the BRICS is therefore not certain to succeed but for Stéphane Ballong, the country would have its chances in the face of the desire to expand the BRICS to Africa. It is also reflected in the invitation of non-member countries to their virtual summit, as with Egypt and Senegal in 2022. This year, Algiers was invited.

The club of "non-aligned"

With BRICS, Algeria wants to show its willingness to counterbalance the dominant Western economic powers. "This is also what defines the BRICS group," continues the specialist of Africa, "this desire to get out of a unipolar world represented by the Bretton Woods agreements, [agreements intended to organize the international monetary system after the Second World War, editor's note], and to create a multipolar world."

"Abdelmadjid Tebboune also expressed this will," continues Stéphane Ballong, "when he presented his candidacy to the BRICS, to leave a unipolar world and create a new world order."

And it is for this reason that Algiers has always maintained good relations both with its European neighbors and with Moscow, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Algeria was also among the twenty African countries that abstained during the March 2, 2022 vote at the UN to sanction the Russian intervention in Ukraine.

On June 15, the Algerian president, on a state visit to Russia, appeared alongside Vladimir Putin. An "affirmation on the part of Algiers not to give in to Western pressure and to maintain its balancing posture," said Brahim Oumansour. "Algeria has agreed to strengthen its gas deliveries to Europe, via Italy, while maintaining its partnerships and a distance vis-à-vis Ukraine."

See alsoAlgeria: President Tebboune on state visit to Russia at Putin's invitation

The stakes were high for Algiers, which had just obtained Moscow's support for its BRICS candidacy.

After Russia, China had already declared, through its head of diplomacy, in favor of Algerian membership of BRICS.

Following this trip to Beijing, Abdelmadjid Tebboune can congratulate himself on a diplomatic success, China has this time confirmed: it will support Algeria's candidacy.

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