With an Influx of Blue Helmets and Cash, China’s Role in African Security Grows More Pervasive
China’s growing engagement with African countries got a publicity boost on September 3 and 4 with the latest Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) summit. The triennial event brought leaders and officials from 53 African countries and the African Union (A.U.) to Beijing for meetings that culminated in a resolution to continue strengthening ties and a renewed pledge of billions of dollars in Chinese loans, grants, and investments. Over the past decade, China’s role in peace and security has also grown rapidly through arms sales, military cooperation, and peacekeeping deployments in Africa. Today, through FOCAC and support to the A.U., among other mechanisms, China is making a growing effort to take a systematic, pan-African approach to security on the continent.
This rising role in security undergirds Beijing’s economic statecraft and commercial interests in Africa, helps professionalize China’s military and protect its citizens there, and furthers the country’s ambitions to be a major power with global influence.
