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The Maritime Silk Road
Cabo Verde - China Cooperation
China utilizes Cabo Verde as a strategic anchor to extend its Belt and Road Initiative into the Atlantic. Through major maritime logistics hubs and digital infrastructure projects, Beijing secures vital supply lines and establishes geopolitical influence in a region traditionally dominated by the West.
Bridging the Atlantic: The Maritime Silk Road, West Africa, and the Brazil Connection
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), initially conceptualized to revive ancient trade routes across Eurasia, has evolved into a global strategy that extends far beyond the Indian Ocean. A critical, yet often overlooked, component of this expansion is the "Maritime Silk Road" link connecting China's manufacturing prowess to the resource-rich and emerging markets of West Africa and Brazil. At the heart of this trans-Atlantic ambition lies the archipelago of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), a nation strategically positioned to serve as a logistics and digital platform for Chinese interests in the mid-Atlantic.
The Lusophone Maritime Silk Road
Chinese strategists and academics have increasingly conceptualized a "Lusophone Maritime Silk Road," a commercial corridor that extends the traditional China-Indian Ocean-Africa route into the Atlantic. This corridor spans from the Strait of Mozambique, around the Cape of Good Hope, up the West African coast to the Gulf of Guinea and Macaronesia, and across to Brazil.
For China, this route serves dual purposes. First, it secures sea lines of communication for vital imports—specifically agricultural products (soy) and iron ore from Brazil, and oil and minerals from West Africa. Second, it opens markets for Chinese manufactured goods and infrastructure contracts. Macao, a Special Administrative Region of China with a Portuguese colonial heritage, acts as the diplomatic and commercial bridge for this strategy through "Forum Macao," a multilateral mechanism connecting China with Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) including Angola, Brazil, and Cabo Verde.
Cabo Verde: The Atlantic Anchor
Located approximately 500 kilometers off the coast of Senegal and sitting at the crossroads of maritime and air routes linking Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Cabo Verde is viewed by Beijing as a "natural extension" of the Belt and Road Initiative into the Atlantic. Despite its lack of natural resources, the archipelago's geopolitical value is immense.
Unlike many of its West African neighbors plagued by instability, Cabo Verde is a stable democracy with high governance standards, making it a low-risk partner for Beijing. Diplomatic relations, established in 1976, have recently been elevated to a "strategic partnership". Cabo Verde strictly adheres to the "One China" policy, further cementing trust with Beijing.
The São Vicente Special Maritime Economic Zone (ZEEMSV)
The centerpiece of China's economic engagement in Cabo Verde is the Zona Económica Especial Marítima em São Vicente (ZEEMSV). This ambitious project aims to transform the island of São Vicente and its deep-water harbor, Porto Grande (Mindelo), into a major mid-Atlantic logistics hub.
The project envisions the construction of a container terminal, a cruise ship terminal, a logistics center for fish exports, and the rehabilitation of the Cabnave shipyards. Feasibility studies and spatial planning for the zone were funded by the Chinese government. While the Cabo Verdean government has opened the project to global investors, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) like the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and China Merchants Group have expressed significant interest in its development.
This infrastructure supports China's distant-water fishing fleets, which operate extensively in the Atlantic. The ZEEMSV is designed to provide transshipment, processing, and logistical support for these fleets, integrating West African fisheries into Chinese supply chains.
The Digital Silk Road: Cables and Surveillance
China's influence in the region extends beyond concrete and steel into the digital realm, often referred to as the "Digital Silk Road." Cabo Verde is positioning itself as a digital hub between West Africa and Brazil, leveraging its location to host submarine cable connections.
A prominent example of Chinese involvement is the "Safe City" (Cidade Segura) project. Implemented by Huawei Technologies and financed by Chinese loans, this initiative has installed video surveillance systems, command centers, and integrated communication networks in Cabo Verde's major cities, including Praia and Mindelo. In January 2025, China signed a new agreement worth approximately €26.3 million to finance, among other things, the third phase of this project, expanding surveillance to additional municipalities.
Furthermore, Chinese technology connects the continents. Huawei Marine Networks (now HMN Tech) constructed the South Atlantic Inter Link (SAIL) cable, which connects Cameroon directly to Brazil, bypassing traditional routing through Europe or the US. This infrastructure is crucial for reducing latency and increasing data sovereignty for the Global South, aligning with China's broader goal of reshaping global digital infrastructure.
Social Infrastructure and Soft Power
To solidify these economic ties, China has invested heavily in Cabo Verde's social infrastructure. Notable projects funded or built by China include:
- The National Parliament and Government Palace: Symbols of the state's sovereignty.
- Educational Facilities: A new campus for the University of Cabo Verde (Uni-CV) was fully financed by China, costing approximately $60 million. The university hosts a Confucius Institute to promote Chinese language and culture.
- Health: China has sent medical teams to Cabo Verde since 1984 and recently financed a new maternity ward at the Baptista de Sousa Hospital in Mindelo.
- Energy: The Poilão Dam, Cabo Verde's first dam, was a Chinese-funded project designed to alleviate water scarcity in the arid archipelago.
Conclusion
Through the strategic utilization of Cabo Verde as a hub, China is effectively closing the loop on a Maritime Silk Road that spans the globe. By linking the manufacturing engines of China with the extractive industries of West Africa and the agricultural power of Brazil, Beijing is creating a trans-Atlantic economic corridor. While framed as a "win-win" partnership for development, this expansion grants China significant logistical, digital, and strategic influence in the Atlantic Ocean, traditionally a sphere of Western dominance.