The Center for Strategic and International Studies published on 18 November 2024 a commentary titled "China's Smart Cities in Africa: Should the United States Be Concerned?" by Jason Warner and Toyasi Alibade.
Chinese surveillance technology is in wide use in African cities governed in some cases by authoritarian regimes, which raises questions about its abuse. Nine African countries currently use Chinese-backed "smart city" surveillance systems.
Foreign Affairs published on 6 February 2024 an article titled "Why China Can't Export Its Model of Surveillance" by Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College.
China has a high-tech surveillance network that blankets the entire country. But the author emphasizes that it also relies on a highly labor-intensive organization. The Communist Party of China has constructed a vast network of millions of informers and spies whose often unpaid work has been critical to the regime's survival. It is these men and women, more than cameras or artificial intelligence, that have allowed Beijing to suppress dissent. Without a network of this size, the system could not function. This means that, despite the party's best efforts, the Chinese security model is impossible to export.
Ghana Web posted on 20 February 2024 an article titled "NDC's Yayra Koku Links Bawumia's Tap-and-Go Bus Monitoring System to China."
Ghana's new tap-and-go bus transport service system uses software for the CCTV monitoring purchased from China and hosted on Chinese servers. This poses a threat to the privacy and security of passengers. The software could allow the Chinese government or hackers to access the facial images and personal data of passengers.
Africa Defense Forum magazine (published by U.S. Africa Command) posted on 17 January 2023 an article titled "Zimbabwe Turns to Chinese Technology to Expand Surveillance of Citizens."
The article is a summary of recent steps Zimbabwe has taken to monitor its nationals with the help of Chinese companies such as Huawei.
The National Endowment for Democracy and International Forum for Democratic Studies published on 15 December 2022 a document titled "Smart Cities and Democratic Vulnerabilities," which contains a contribution (pages 11-17) titled "Is Digitalization Endangering Democracy in Mauritius?" by Roukaya Kasenally, University of Mauritius.
Over the last five years, Mauritius has experienced significant democratic backsliding. Worrying trends include arbitrary arrests of journalists and other citizens, amendments to broadcasting and digital legislation, closures of certain private radio stations, the political weaponization of the police, and the weakening of key oversight institutions.
Adding to this situation is the Mauritius Safe City Project (MCSP), one of more than twenty Huawei-backed smart or "safe" city projects across Africa. In Mauritius, it involved the installation of 4,000 cameras with facial recognition and license plate recognition capabilities. The author argues that the real intent behind the $455 million project financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China remains unclear. But critical questions about how the MCSP will affect Mauritian politics against the backdrop of the country's recent democratic backsliding are unanswered.
The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs posted on 20 January 2023 an article titled "A Technological Fix: The Adoption of Chinese Public Security Systems" by Bulelani Jili.
The article looks at the proliferation in Africa of Chinese surveillance tools and questions their use. Some 22 African countries have contracted with Chinese firms to establish public security surveillance systems.
