From the Gobi to the Sahel: Can China's anti-desertification model work in Africa?

China's assistance with Africa's Great Green Wall offers a critical test case for its eco-developmental approach to combating desertification. Unlike Western-backed conservation models, which focus primarily on ecological restoration, China's strategy-refined through its Three North Shelterbelt Program-focuses on eco-developmentalism, integrating tree planting with large-scale infrastructure, renewable energy, and livelihood transformation through a broad developmental vision. Comparing longstanding efforts in Senegal with more recent Chinese-backed partnerships in Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, we assess the transferability of China's approach. While technologies like solar-powered irrigation and sand-fixation show promise, their implementation in Africa faces logistical and governance challenges. More fundamentally, the initiative exposes a philosophical divide: Africa's restoration-focused ambitions versus China's eco-developmental infrastructure-led model. This tension reflects broader debates about whether and how arid lands should be "restored" or "developed." We reflect on hybrid approaches that bridge these extremes, while highlighting gaps between China's technocratic solutions and African institutional realities.