China’s Strategic Play in Africa: National and Global Security Concern
By Luke Bencie, Contributing Author & Host / December 6, 2024
Luke Bencie is the Managing Director for Security Management International, LLC. He has consulted for the US Department of State, US Department of Defense, Fortune 500 companies, and foreign governments, specializing in strategic and security management assessments, counterintelligence, and due-diligence investigations. Bencie has authored "Among Enemies: Counter-Espionage for the Business Traveler" and "Global Security Consulting: How to Build a Thriving International Practice."
With experience in over 100 countries, Bencie has trained thousands from police, military, and intelligence services on topics such as espionage, border security, and terrorism. Prior to SMI, he was a Senior Security Consultant for Raytheon, focusing on emerging markets, and served on the US Department of State’s Foreign Emergency Support Team. He holds graduate degrees in National Security Studies and an MBA, and has further education from institutions like Wharton and the FBI’s National Training Academy.
A Disconcerting Trend
Travelers to Africa over the past decade may have spotted a disconcerting trend. The continent has been besieged by multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects. Construction cranes regularly dot the skylines of cities such as Lagos, Kigali, Nairobi, and Luanda. While this may initially seem like progress, especially for the developing world, the reality is that the continent’s natural resources are being ravaged. In one of the most powerful – and uncontested – strategic geopolitical moves in decades, China is betting big on Africa… and the rest of the world is just now trying to catch up!
China’s Captivated Interest
It's no surprise that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) has been ramping up its economic and political portfolios on the continent, with the intention of enhancing its need for valuable resources. Let’s face it, 1.4 billion people require a tremendous number of daily supplies – from eggs to cocoa beans and oil to natural gas. Throw into the mix even more precious commodities such as diamonds, gold, uranium, platinum and cobalt, and you can see China’s captivated interest.
Great Power Competition
In just the past few years, China has funded over 3,000 projects valued at close to USD $100 billion. That accounts for over 30% of all Africa’s major construction projects, investing more than the other top eight lenders combined (to include the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the U.S. and European development banks). Considering the return of Great Power Competition with China, the United States is keenly monitoring the situation.
Dependency, Domination, and Debt
The U.S. views China’s engagement in Africa as “debt-trap diplomacy.” This indicates that China lends more money than what the beneficiary African nation can pay back. As a result, China may take natural resources as remuneration for delivering on grand infrastructure projects. This forces the African nation to become beholden to China, thus keeping America (and other nations) at arm’s length. Think of it as a high interest rate on the balance of your credit card. Rather than AMEX taking a 13% fee each month, China takes extra copper out of the ground – and you can’t cancel your card until your debts are paid. In fact, the United States interprets the Chinese threat in Africa as a cycle of “dependency, domination, and debt.”
Outside Support
Recently, more African countries have chosen to accept outside support because the proceeds from their chief exports have dwindled since 2008 and economic growth has slowed overall. Therefore, loans are taken to fill budget gaps. There has been a turn towards infrastructure development to improve economic growth and investment, which also requires increased funding. Chinese investment and loans are appealing for several reasons. For one, China does not have the history of colonialism with the continent that the West does. They also choose to extend offers directly to African governments to finance projects, with few, if any, political conditions, or lender constraints.
Business Corruption
Business corruption is often a component of their deals, considering they frequently violate the UN convention against corruption by paying bribes and creating projects lacking in transparency, while countries like the U.S. and UK remain compliant with international law. Furthermore, in contrast to Chinese direct investment in governments, the U.S. tends to send money through third parties like companies and nonprofits. This funding often comes with clauses that need to be met to continue the partnership. As a result of these practices, Chinese deals can be particularly attractive to poorly governed, less democratic, and indebted countries. For example, the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), a country considered ‘not free’ by the Freedom House system, signed a minerals-for-infrastructure deal with China in 2008.
A Substantial Threat
Despite promises of development across the sub-Sahara, China’s lack of transparency and failure to comply with globally accepted norms of partnership, make it a substantial threat not only to African nations, but also to the United States and the world.
China’s Interest in Africa
China’s interest in the African continent can be summarized in the following three points.
First, the projects they choose to finance are performed by Chinese construction and engineering firms, most frequently state-owned enterprises. This stimulates the Chinese economy and provides overseas jobs for Chinese workers.
Next, they are looking to secure access to Africa’s natural resources, such as oil, iron, copper, and so on. These resources can be gained with commodity backed loans, meaning China will put up the money for a project and accept repayment with a country’s natural resources. Better infrastructure in general means quicker transportation of resources back to the Chinese economy and the infusion of Chinese goods into the African market.
Finally, they can use foreign lending and indebtedness to gain greater geopolitical support. Those concerned with China’s increase of global influence might argue that the political value of Africa is even greater than the economic value. Africa is considered a target space for public diplomacy tests because of their openness to Chinese engagement. China has been buying media space, dominating the telecommunication market, and providing security technology. For example, Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE have been leading providers of internet access and mobile phone networks in Africa. Projects like the 10,000 Villages Program, which offers cheap satellite TV packages that all include Chinese state channels, seek to influence political narratives through media dominance. China also made it a priority to distribute personal protective equipment and vaccines in Africa, in part to fight negative Western perceptions that China was responsible for the severity of the COVID-19 situation.
China’s Larger Global Scheme
Investment in Africa reflects part of China’s larger global scheme, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI consists of large and ambitious infrastructure projects, which began in 2013 with the purpose of increasing China’s economic and political influence. This initiative poses economic, political, climate change, security, and health interest risks for the United States. As mentioned above in the case of Africa, China will likely push the U.S. out of foreign markets and shift technical standards in their direction. According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the medium debt to GDP ratio in Africa has recently risen back above 50%, indicating a 15-20% chance of a debt crisis. Debt crises damage global economic growth and macroeconomic stability in an already contracted economy. Chinese leveraging of debt dependency for political gain could also undermine U.S. interests and their rules-based approach because it could lead to the proliferation of China’s authoritarian model.
More Influential
Many countries around the world are beginning to see China as more economically prolific, despite the dominance of U.S. companies investing in many regions, simply because they lack the association of state-owned enterprises. The U.S. still invests more in Africa than China, but many see China as the more influential of the two. U.S. leverage over authoritarian regimes wanes when BRI investment continues to provide economic backing, in addition to increasing the supply of tools that empower autocracies, like surveillance technology. In the case of Uganda, Huawei aided their president in tracking, intercepting communications, and spying on his political opponents.
Security Risks of a Military Base and Port Facilities
Although China does not have formal military alliances and only one military base overseas, there are still substantial security risks. Their singular military base is in Djibouti, and the country has an alarmingly high risk of debt dependency on China after unsustainable investments and loans, making them vulnerable to political and economic manipulation. China may seek to take advantage of access to commercial port facilities, many of which they have gained control over across the globe. A threat example of this could be if China uses its economic and political power over a country, then that country could be persuaded to block U.S. access to their military bases via the Chinese controlled port. The United States has a military base in Djibouti reliant on a Chinese container port that could easily deny access in the event of a conflict. The position of the base also puts it at risk as a target of intelligence collection from Chinese-built undersea cable systems.
Late Efforts
The United States has become increasingly aware of threats that China’s global expansion poses, including their significant involvement in Africa. Unfortunately, the U.S. is not addressing these concerns sufficiently. Despite ramping up projects and funding for infrastructure, aid, technology and investment, these efforts are coming late. Strategic reevaluations about how the United States can effectively operate in Africa need to take place if they hope to offer viable alternatives to the convoluted partnerships China offers.
National and Global Security Concern
In short, people should recognize that China’s long-term strategy in Africa is not colonialism. Rather, it is predatory lending where natural resources are the highly-sought-after collateral. This hunger for economic and political dominance in the region must be recognized as a national and global security concern.