Article 19, a UK-based international organization with 9 regional offices devoted to freedom of expression, posted on 18 April 2024 a report titled "The Digital Silk Road: China and the Rise of Digital Repression in the Indo-Pacific."
The report examines China's digital infrastructure and governance influence in Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand. While the study does not deal with Africa, it offers lessons for China's digital engagement with the continent.
The report argues that assessing China's partnerships and what they mean for rising repression is vital to understanding China's ambitions to rewire the world and rewrite the rules that govern the digital space. By expanding its authoritarian model, China aims to ultimately supplant the tenets of internet freedom and rights-based principles of global digital governance.
