The Lobito Corridor: American Investments in the Shadow of Great Power Competition

By Dr. Irit Back

April 2025

Executive Summary

In response to decades of substantial Chinese investment in Africa, the United States has reestablished its presence to compete with China, emerging as the main backer of the Lobito Corridor—Washington's largest infrastructure initiative on the continent.

The Lobito Corridor represents a significant advancement in U.S. ambitions in Africa, offering critical financing for infrastructure upgrades throughout the ambitious project, which connects the central African mineral belt—including mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—to the Angolan port of Lobito. However, substantial questions persist, as the U.S. and its European allies are perceived as being late to the game following nearly two decades of Chinese investment in both infrastructure and financing across Africa. 

This paper analyzes the Lobito Corridor within historical and geopolitical contexts, detailing the historical background that prompted American investment in the project and the broader geopolitical implications of the Corridor as a counter to Chinese-backed infrastructure initiatives financed by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Finally, it will provide a look to the future, analyzing the potential benefits that it can provide to the United States in the prism of its rising competition with China, particularly with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

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