China Pressures African Governments on Beijing's Core Domestic Interests

 The Associated Press published on 9 April 2025 an article titled "Beijing Ups Diplomatic Pressure on Africa as the US Pulls Back" by Dake Kang.

The government of China pressured Malawi and Gambia to withdraw from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of lawmakers from 38 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing.  IPAC has coordinated sanctions on China over rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong and rallied support for Taiwan.  These actions by China raise questions about its claims that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of African countries. 

Comment:  This policy by Beijing is consistent with its long-standing willingness to push back when African governments take exception to any of China's core domestic issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, island building in the South China Sea, and human rights policies. 

Hong Kong Vessel Experiences Explosion in Red Sea

 The Associated Press published on 29 January 2025 an article titled "Explosion Forces Crew to Abandon Hong Kong-Flagged Container Ship in the Red Sea" by Jon Gambrell.

A Hong Kong-flagged and owned container ship with Chinese crew experienced an explosion off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.  The crew safely abandoned ship.  Houthi rebels in Yemen declared last week an end to attacks on international shipping and have not acknowledged the incident.  

What Happened to China's Spaceport in Djibouti?

Spain's Atalayar Between Two Shores posted on 13 February 2024 an article titled "China's New Ambition: To Set Up a Space Base in the Horn of Africa" by Juan Pons.

The article reviews the Chinese initiative that resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in January 2023 between Djibouti's Ministry of Higher Education and Research and two private Chinese companies: Touchroad International Holdings Group and Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group.  This joint venture is aiming to operate satellite launches with no less than seven pads and three rocket engine test beds on a 10 square kilometer site near Obock in Djibouti.  The investment is expected to exceed $1 billion.

Space in Africa published on 18 December 2023 an article titled "2023 in Review: Remarkable Feats from Djibouti's Growing Space Programme" by Ayooluwa Adetola.

The article contains an interview with a senior official in Djibouti's Ministry of Higher Education and Research, which signed the international commercial spaceport MOU with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group and Touchroad International Holdings Group.  The Djiboutian official said the proposed location for the spaceport is "ready in the desert before the sea in Obock."  He added that "for us, the actual start is when we sign the contract, where the responsibilities of all parties are properly spelt out, and the project's feasibility is confirmed." Djibouti is "waiting for the finer details of the contract to be ironed out."

 By way of background, Foreign Policy published on 21 April 2023 an article titled "China's Space Dream Is a Legal Nightmare" by Benjamin Silverstein, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

This piece provides the rationale for a spaceport in Djibouti and the practical and legal challenges to implementing the project.

Comment:  While this ambitious project is still very much under discussion by the government of Djibouti and the companies in Hong Kong and China, it remains a proposal and not an established fact.  

Houthi Attacks Jeopardize Chinese Shipping and Investments in Suez Canal and Red Sea

 Reuters published on 15 January 2024 an article titled "Explainer: Houthi Attacks Expose China's Commercial Stakes in Red Sea" by Joe Cash.

The article identifies significant past and pending Chinese investments in the Suez Canal Zone, pointing out that Iran-supported Houthi attacks deterring commercial shipping from the Red Sea and Suez Canal could frustrate Chinese investors who have committed huge sums to the waterway's development to profit from their safe passage.   

North Korea Closes Embassies in Uganda and Angola

 National Public Radio published on 6 November 2023 an article titled "North Korea Says It Is Closing Some Diplomatic Missions Around the World" by Se Eun Gong.  

North Korea is closing its diplomatic missions in Uganda, Angola, Spain, and Hong Kong and may shut down as many as a dozen in order to increase efficiency in its diplomatic establishments.  North Korean ambassadors have already left Angola and Uganda.  

Eritrea Aligns Ever More Closely with Russia and China

 TASS, the Russian News Agency, published on 31 May 2023 a press release titled "Putin Begins Talks with Visiting Eritrean President."

This is the first ever meeting between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

Comment:  The visit follows Eritrea's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the only African country to take such a position.  Russia has been seeking a military base in the Red Sea.  It would not be surprising if this issue is on the agenda.

The visit to Moscow comes soon after President Isaias made a state visit to China.  Isaias has been supportive of China's core domestic concerns such as Hong Kong, Tibet, human rights, and Xinjiang.  For accounts of his visit to China see Aggrey Mutambo's "Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in State Visit to China" published by The East African on 20 May and Salem Solomon's "In State Visit, Eritrea and China Signal Deeper Partnership" published by the Voice of America on 22 May.

Is Proposed Chinese Spaceport in Djibouti an Attempt to Evade International Space Law?

 Foreign Policy published on 21 April 2023 an analysis titled "China's Space Dream Is a Legal Nightmare" by Benjamin Silverstein, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Early this year, Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group, a Chinese company, signed an agreement with Djibouti to build a rocket launch facility in the country.  The author suggests this deal may an effort by China to evade international space law as Djibouti has not signed and is not subject to the Outer Space Treaty.

Is China Biggest Winner in Africa's New Free Trade Bloc?

 Foreign Policy posted on 19 August 2021 a commentary titled "China Is Biggest Winner from Africa's New Free Trade Bloc" by Oluwatosin Adeshokan, freelance writer in Nigeria.  

The author argues that China is the biggest winner in the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).  China is increasingly using its trade, financing, and investment deals to favor China.  Africa's trade deficit with China is growing.  

UN Human Rights Council Statement on Xinjiang: No African Signers

 Canada introduced on 22 June 2021 at the UN Human Rights Council a "Joint Statement on the Human Rights Situation in Xinjiang."  It expressed grave concern about the situation in Xinjiang and commented on the deterioration of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong and human rights situation in Tibet.

Forty-four countries, mostly European, a few Latin American and Pacific Island nations, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and the US signed the statement.  Not a single country in Africa signed.  

Half of African Countries Publicly Back China's Policy on Hong Kong

 The Diplomat published on 9 October 2020 an analysis titled "Which Countries Support China on Hong Kong's National Security Law?" by Shannon Tiezzi.

Twenty-seven out of fifty-four African countries recently joined a statement by Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in support of China's policy in Hong Kong.  Not a single African country signed on to a statement by the German ambassador to the UN that criticized China's policies in both Hong Kong and Xinjiang.  

No African Countries Join Western Criticism of China at UN

 In a rejoinder to the statement by China's permanent representative to the United Nations (see 6 October below), the permanent representative of Germany issued a statement on behalf of 39 mostly Western countries in the Third Committee of the UN.  It expressed grave concern "about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong."

While 9 African countries joined the Chinese-drafted statement critical of human rights in the US and EU countries, no African or Middle Eastern country joined the German-drafted statement critical of China.  

China Needs Africa as Much as Africa Needs China

 The Royal United Services Institute published on 3 August 2020 a commentary titled "China in Africa's Looking Glass: Perceptions and Realities" by Hangwei Li, University of London, and Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa, Hoja Law Group.

The authors argue that China needs Africa as much as Africa needs China, especially as China tries to increase its soft power globally.  The bargaining power of African leaders is increasing as they seek to play a greater role in multilateral affairs without becoming a pawn in China-US disagreements.  

Investment in Africa: China vs. Traditional Partners

China in Africa The Real Story posted on 31 July 2020 an analysis titled "Investment in Africa:  China vs Traditional Partners" Part I and Part II by Thierry Pairault, research director at France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. 

The author concludes that Africa's traditional investment partners have not abandoned the continent, but that Africa has gained a new and powerful partner--China.   

Africa and US-China Competition

The China-Africa Project posted on 27 July 2020 an interview with Judd Devermont, Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, on how African governments can position themselves in the US-China standoff.

Devermont concluded that U.S. policy toward Africa is focused on China, but there is also an intent to engage the region on its own merits.

African Countries Support China's Crackdown on Hong Kong

Axios published on 3 July 2020 an article titled "The 53 Countries Supporting China's Crackdown on Hong Kong" by Dave Lawler.

Cuba presented a resolution before the UN Human Rights Council backing Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong, which is widely seen in the West as a repressive crackdown.  The UK presented a resolution opposing the security law.  Fifty-three countries, including twenty-five in Africa, supported Cuba's resolution that backed the crackdown.  Twenty-seven countries, not a single one in Africa, backed the UK resolution that was critical of the crackdown.

The twenty-five African countries that supported the crackdown were: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  The real surprise on this list is Morocco.  Sudan, in view of its efforts to democratize, is something of a surprise although its much diminished oil sector is still beholden to China.  Somalia is also something of a surprise as it does not owe China anything; most of its support comes from the West and Turkey.  Niger is a mild surprise. 

The Trump administration pulled the United States out of the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 making it largely irrelevant. 

If African leaders are wondering why the West is losing interest in the continent and no longer taking many African governments seriously, all they have to do is reflect on votes like this.   

African Support for China's Core Principles

The Spring 2020 issue of Orbis contains an article titled "Evolving Principles and Guiding Concepts: How China Gains African Support for its Core National Interests" by me and Josh Eisenman. This link only offers the abstract. Until I can figure out how to load the sharing mechanism and if you want a PDF copy of the entire article, please send an email to dhshinn@earthlink.net.

Under Xi Jinping, China has packaged its policies using two interrelated guiding concepts, the "Chinese Dream" and "The Community of Shared Future." These concepts represent the conceptual framework that China has created to engage African and other countries as it expands its diplomatic, economic, and security interaction with Africa. Beijing has successfully obtained African support or, at least, acquiescence for its core national interests: Taiwan, Tibet, the mistreatment of Muslim minorities, human rights, South China Sea, and Hong Kong.

Podcast on China's Political and Security Relations with Africa

ChinaPower posted on 26 February 2020 a 26 minute podcast titled "China's Increasing Engagement with Africa: A Conversation with Joshua Eisenman" hosted by Bonnie Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The focus of the discussion is China's political and security relationship with Africa rather than the more widely covered economic issues. The podcast is also a precursor to a book we are doing on the China-Africa relationship. A small part of our research is being published in the next issue of Orbis: FPRI's Journal of World Affairs.

China Seeks African Support on Hong Kong

China has been trying to shape international, including African, opinion about the protests in Hong Kong. Chinese envoys have encouraged opinion pieces for local news outlets, granted interviews, held media briefings, and made speeches in a flurry of public relations activity according to Kristin Huang in the South China Morning Post on 10 September 2019 in an article titled "Why China Went On a Global Media Blitz over the Hong Kong Protests--and Why It Probably Won't Work." The effort included visits to Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria in September by Yang Jiechi, President Xi Jinping's special representative, and a visit to South Africa in October by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accoring to a 19 October article in the South China Morning Post titled "South Africa Gets Behind China's Defence of Multilateral Trade" by Jevans Nyabiage.

So far, the governments of Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have not commented publicly on the sitution in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Tanzania's Chief Government Spokesperson, Hassan Abbasi, stated in a 4 October interview that Hong Kong is an internal affair within China and Tanzania supports the one country, two systems approach of the government of China. He added that the internal steps taken with the Hong Kong government "are the best approach which other countries need to support." Uganda's ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement on 3 October stating that it "firmly supports the one country, two systems policy of the People's Republic of China on the matter of Hong Kong and other areas." The statement added that "Hong Kong is part of China. Hong Kong's affairs are China's domestic affairs."

It appears that, so far, Uganda and Tanzania are the only African countries that have issued public statements supporting China's handling of the situation in Hong Kong.

Africa and Hong Kong: A New Battleground for Supporting China?

Africa Times published on 6 October 2019 an article titled "Hong Kong, Africa and the One China Policy."

The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement last week on the situation in Hong Kong that included the statement: "Hong Kong's affairs are China's domestic affairs." Ministerial level personnel from Liberia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe have also gone out of their way in recent weeks to reaffirm their support for the One China policy. The Ugandan statement is surprising in its support of Beijing's approach to Hong Kong and may portend a campaign to encourage additional statements from African governments.

Chinese Company Signs Major Pipeline Deal with Ethiopia (English and French)

The Oxford Business Group posted on 29 March 2018 an article titled "Cross-border LNG Project in Djibouti Sees Signs of Life."

Ethiopia signed in February an agreement with a Chinese and Hong Kong company to construct a 700 kilometer pipeline for sending gas from the Ethiopian Ogaden region to an LNG terminal in Djibouti. The entire project is expected to involve a $4 billion investment, of which $3 billion will be done in Djibouti.