China has emerged as an important economic, political but also security actor in Africa as a result of
its 'Going out' policy officially launched in 2001, and the massive roll-out of its signature connectivity
strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), since 2013. The presence of Chinese citizens and
economic assets in Africa has grown substantially due to China's expanding trade with, and Chinafunded infrastructure projects in, African countries. Many of those countries are plagued by
intrastate armed conflicts, jihadist terrorism or maritime piracy off their coasts. The rising number of
violent attacks against Chinese workers, calls from the domestic Chinese audience for action, and
surging economic loss are some of the factors that have compelled the Chinese government to
react. China has shifted from uncompromising non-involvement to selective and incremental
engagement in bilateral, regional and international cooperation on peace and security by nuancing,
on a case-by-case basis, the narrow boundaries of its normative foreign policy framework, including
the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of foreign countries, that had made a
previously inward-looking China for decades a free-rider on global security, provided by the US in
particular.
As in other fields, China has pursued a two-pronged approach to African security issues, to defend
its economic and security interests and to expand its influence in Africa. On the one hand, it has
contributed to existing multilateral structures and instruments to foster peace and security. It has
participated in UN-led peacekeeping missions to Africa and in the UN-mandated counter-piracy
action off the Horn of Africa. Both have provided the pretext for China to accelerate its massive bluewater navy build up, to be present in the Indian Ocean and beyond and to set up its first overseas
military base, in Djibouti. On the other hand, it has expanded its military presence by engaging
African countries bilaterally through joint drills, military training, and military infrastructure-building
and multilaterally through the newly created China-Africa fora on security issues.
Against this backdrop it remains to be seen how complementary or competitive the future EU-China
security cooperation, which so far has remained in its infancy, will be in seeking 'African solutions to
African problems'.