[LINK] "Xi's African Tour Highlights China's Expanding Security Role"

[rfmcdonald]

China's deepening relationship with African countries is the subject of this Bloomberg article by Michael Cohen and Ting Shi.

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a five-day African visit on Tuesday that he’ll 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 $100 million of military aid for 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,” Lyle Morris, a project associate at the RAND Corp., said, citing in particular the military assistance 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 byproduct of increased Chinese engagement.”

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