China's Salami Slicing in Africa

The Institute for Security Studies posted on 3 October 2018 a commentary titled "China's Salami Slicing Takes Root in Africa" by Ronak Gopaldas, director at Signal Risk, a company that specializes in risk management in Africa.

Salami slicing involves the slow accumulation of small changes which add up over time to a substantial change in the strategic picture. This incremental strategy has been employed with considerable success for territorial gains in the South China Sea. It also explains how China has been able to make significant gains in Africa without generating widespread public outrage. A case in point is the construction of a naval base in Djibouti. The author argues that China is using salami slicing to achieve both geo-strategic leverage and economic penetration in Africa.