Xi’s Africa tour reveals China’s growing security role

CAPE TOWN — To see China’s evolving foreign policy, look to Africa, where a desire to protect the former’s economic investment is leading to a revision of Beijing’s hands-off approach to the internal affairs of other nations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (picture) began a five-day African visit yesterday, which he would use to showcase China’s expanding role as a protector of regional security as well as a provider of infrastructure and consumer of resources.

China has pledged US$100 million (S$141 million) of military aid to the African Union, sent an infantry battalion to support peacekeeping efforts in South Sudan, and deployed frigates to fight piracy off the Somali coast, leading the country to consider building its first overseas naval resupply station in Djibouti.

“Such initiatives are a clear departure from Beijing’s aversion to military or security intervention in Africa,” said Mr Lyle Morris, a project associate at RAND Corp, citing in particular the military assistance Mr Xi pledged in September. “The announcement suggests a rethinking of Chinese priorities on the continent, and marks a recognition that China’s participation in conflict resolution will be an unavoidable by-product of increased Chinese engagement.”

These moves are part of a broader policy shift, as Mr Xi works to build geopolitical influence for the world’s second-largest economy without abandoning a decades-old vow against interfering in other countries.

This new approach to Africa — a major hot spot for Chinese investment — could illustrate how China tries to strike that balance globally as its business interests expand.

Such security moves could also help China counter questions about its commitment to Africa’s long-term development, after complaints about the fairness of deals trading resources for infrastructure and the level of local labour used by the more than 2,500 Chinese companies on the continent.

Mr Xi must also protect an estimated two million Chinese working in some of Africa’s most unstable areas — a concern highlighted by a recent attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, that left at least 20 people dead. The Mali attack showed that “China’s vast business interests in Africa face an uncertain future if security issues are not tackled”, said Mr Shu Yunguo, director of the Center for African Studies at Shanghai Normal University.

While in Africa, Mr Xi will be hosted by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, a longtime Chinese ally who currently heads the African Union. He will then receive a similar reception in South Africa before participating in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday — the first such top-level gathering to be held in Africa.

Trade relations and development projects will top the agenda, but talks are also planned on joint anti-terrorism efforts.

“We cannot have development without security,” said Mr Ghulam Asmal, director of international partnerships at South Africa’s Department of International Relations. “There is a realisation that security cannot be left out of the equation.”

In building security ties with African leaders, China is also cultivating a base of global diplomatic support, said Dr David Shinn, who teaches African affairs at George Washington University. African nations constitute more than a quarter of the UN General Assembly.

“China is approaching Africa a little differently than it used to,” said Dr Shinn. “It’s not reached the point yet where you could say they have abandoned the principle of non-interference, but it certainly has reached the point of a redefinition of what non-interference means.” BLOOMBERG