The Communist Party of China Reaches Out to Africa

 E-International Relations posted on 1 April 2026 my short paper titled "The Communist Party of China Reaches Out to Africa."

This is a post-COVID-19 update of efforts by the International Department of the Communist Party of China (ID-CPC) to strengthen ties with political parties in Africa.  COVID-19 significantly interrupted the ID-CPC's interaction with African political parties. The ID-CPC has now returned to a high degree of engagement with them.     

The China Dream and Africa

The Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 6 April 2017 a commentary titled "Pursuing the China Dream through Africa: Five Elements of China's Africa Strategy" by Paul Nantulya.

The author argues that Africa is an integral element of President Xi Jinping's "China Dream"--a blueprint for restoring China to its perceived rightful place of global prominence. Part of the blueprint entails positioning China as a leader in the developing world through expanded bilateral and multilateral engagement. China advances these aims in five primary ways: economic engagement, military cooperation, support for UN peacekeeping, political party training, and use of soft power.