According to a study, China is massively expanding its military presence on the African continent. „Beijing hopes to expand its relations with African countries beyond a trade relationship,“ says a new study by Reuters from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the China Institute Merics in Berlin.
The communist government in Beijing is increasing the use of military personnel in UN operations and the military equipment of African countries. China is the second largest arms supplier in Africa.
„China is trying to demonstrate that it is a ‚responsible major power‘ and wants to strengthen its international reputation and position,“ says the study. In total, there were more than one million Chinese in Africa. There is already a Chinese naval base in Djibouti.
Armed personnel for UN operations
Western countries have been observing for years that China is expanding its trade relations in Africa and also securing raw material stocks on the continent. This had triggered anti-Chinese reactions in some African countries.
The study now describes that the emerging world power has reached the next stage of development. In doing so, it takes a different path than the EU or the USA. In addition to equipment aids for the armed forces, African military personnel are also being trained on a larger scale in China. The country is also increasingly deploying armed personnel for UN operations such as the Minusma mission in the Sahel region.
The study encourages Europe to see China not only as an economic competitor and partner in the future, but increasingly also as a security policy actor in Africa. The study is based on 60 interviews with security experts in eight West African countries.
