China's Footprint in Africa: Unpacking Beijing’s Influence on Politics, Societies, and Economies
Megatrends Working Paper 2023 05, 06.07.2023, 31 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2023MTA-WP05
African countries share deep economic, political, and social ties with China. To better understand Beijing’s activities and impact, we need more robust empirical data. Future research should strengthen the link between empirical data and theoretical debates on status, power, and influence.
Chinese train instructor Jiang Liping (back) works with apprentice Horace Owiti in Nairobi, Kenya, May 23, 2023. The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya has become a flagship project of China-Africa cooperation.
© WANG GUANSEN XINHUAXinhua via AFP
Several African countries have defaulted on their debt, and more could follow. Multilateral solutions for debt relief are needed but are complicated by power struggles between the West and China, argue Karoline Eickhoff and Rainer Thiele on the occasion of the Paris Summit.
Security cooperation has become vital for protecting China’s interests and investments in Africa, especially in the geopolitically important Horn of Africa (HoA). Now, it recently launched the ‘Initiative of Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa’ and appointed its first special envoy for the region. Both steps suggest that China seeks to become a more prominent development and security provider in the region. As the EU and Germany currently re-evaluate their relations with Beijing as much as with African partner countries, questions arise about the substance of the HoA initiative and what the consequences for peace and security in the region could be.
doi:10.18449/2022MTA-WP01
