Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will undertake a State Visit to China from 5 to 11 July as the southern African nation seeks to deepen cooperation in mining, critical minerals, renewable energy and industrial development with its largest trading partner.
The visit, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, comes as Namibia positions itself as a strategic supplier of critical minerals and a future green hydrogen producer while pursuing greater investment in mineral beneficiation, manufacturing and energy infrastructure.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah is expected to hold bilateral talks with Xi Jinping, the Premier of the State Council and senior Chinese government and Communist Party officials.
Discussions will focus on expanding cooperation in trade and investment, mining and mineral beneficiation, renewable energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, science and technology, agriculture and digital innovation.
The visit also includes meetings with provincial leaders in Guangdong, Shenzhen, Sichuan and Beijing, alongside tours of Chinese manufacturing plants, innovation centres and companies operating in the electronics, telecommunications, renewable energy and nuclear energy sectors.
The engagements are intended to identify new investment opportunities aligned with Namibia’s industrialisation agenda.
A key event during the visit will be the Namibia-China High-Level Trade and Investment Conference, where government officials and private sector leaders from both countries will explore opportunities across mining, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing. Business-to-business meetings and investment promotion activities are also scheduled.
The visit follows commitments made at the Ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit held in Beijing in September 2024, where China pledged renewed support for industrialisation, infrastructure development and green growth across Africa. Namibia is also seeking to expand cooperation under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
China has become one of Namibia’s most important economic partners, particularly in the mining sector. Chinese companies have invested heavily in uranium, lithium and rare earth projects, as well as manufacturing, infrastructure and renewable energy developments, making China one of the country’s largest sources of foreign direct investment.
The economic relationship has continued to strengthen. Bilateral trade reached a record N$40.64 billion (approximately US$2.3 billion) in 2025, up 10.3% from the previous year. Namibia exported N$22.72 billion worth of goods to China, generating a trade surplus of N$4.8 billion.
Trade has remained robust in 2026, with two-way trade reaching N$14.79 billion during the first four months of the year. Namibia exported N$8.17 billion worth of goods while importing N$6.62 billion.
More than 96% of Namibia’s exports to China consist of mineral products, highlighting China’s importance as a destination for the country’s mining industry while reinforcing the government’s drive to increase domestic value addition and downstream processing.
For Namibia, one of the world’s leading uranium producers and an emerging source of critical minerals essential to the global energy transition, the visit represents an opportunity to move beyond raw commodity exports by attracting investment into processing, clean energy technologies and industrial manufacturing.
The Presidency said the State Visit is expected to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries while supporting Namibia’s long-term economic transformation.
