Relationship dossier
Botswana
People's Republic of China
Relationship assessment
Botswana and China pursue a cooperative partnership spanning political engagement and development.
Botswana toward People's Republic of China
+40Botswana follows the one-China policy and engaged China in upgrading bilateral ties to a strategic partnership in 2023, with cooperation covering areas including trade, infrastructure and agriculture.
People's Republic of China toward Botswana
+40China has pursued development and economic cooperation with Botswana, including investment and development activity. In 2023, the countries announced a strategic partnership covering areas such as infrastructure, agriculture and trade.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship has a durable cooperative structure, including political engagement, Botswana's adherence to the one-China policy, economic and development cooperation, and the 2023 strategic partnership. The breadth of announced cooperation supports a positive assessment, though the scale and implementation of individual initiatives remain unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Botswana and China maintain a cooperative relationship involving political engagement, development and economic cooperation. Botswana follows the one-China policy, and the countries announced a strategic partnership in 2023 with cooperation spanning areas including trade, infrastructure and agriculture. The relationship also includes Chinese development and investment activity in Botswana.
Key developments
Botswana and China announced a strategic partnership and cooperation in areas including trade, infrastructure and agriculture.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of projects under the 2023 strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent and terms of Chinese development assistance and investment in Botswana are uncertain.