China-Africa Security Radar published on 19 October 2025 an analysis titled "Can Inexperience Train Inexperience: The Paradox of the PLA's Military Training in Africa" by Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah.
The author asks if an army without recent combat experience can effectively train others for war. He points out that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has not conducted sustained combat operations since the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, adding that combat experience provides irreplaceable insights.
He adds, however, that Chinese military training programs emphasize areas where battlefield experience matters less: peacekeeping operations, infrastructure security, basic military skills, and institutional capacity building. While improvement in these skills may not meet all of Africa's training needs, they make valuable contributions.
