ABSTRACT
Based on official speeches and documents, Chinese think tank publications, as well as data sets mapping China’s global activities, this chapter critically assesses the main patterns and instruments of China’s Africa strategy. It seeks to shed light on the incremental evolution and pragmatic adaptation of China’s foreign and security approach toward Africa. The chapter’s main point of departure is the observation of an economy–security nexus determining Beijing’s strategic calculations. Since the official launching of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) investment in large-scale connectivity projects across the African continent have been noticeably expanded. However, numerous ‘Chinese’ projects are primarily undertaken by private companies and entrepreneurs and hence should not be categorized along the lines of the PRC’s official foreign strategy. Nonetheless, the therefrom-deriving complex economic interconnectedness of China and Africa finally requires a modification of Beijing’s reflections on security and stability – hence forcing China to position itself in ‘domestic’ (and ‘regional’) affairs of its African partners along the corridors of the ‘New Silk Road’.
