The Wall Street Journal published on 10 February 2024 an article titled "U.S.-China Tensions Have a New Front: A Naval Base in Africa" by Michael M. Phillips.
As China seeks permission to establish a naval base on Africa's Atlantic coastline, the United States is working behind the scenes to prevent it from happening. So far, the United States has been winning the contest, which has been playing out in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Japan Forward published on 7 December 2022 a commentary titled "The Security Implications of a Chinese Military Base in Equatorial Guinea" by Monika Chansoria.
There have been persistent rumors that China is negotiating with Equatorial Guinea for construction of a naval base at the mainland port of Bata.
Comment: The article does not provide any new evidence to support this rumor, although China's naval base in Djibouti was also a surprise.
The China Africa Research Initiative published in October 2021 a briefing paper titled "What is the Real Story of China's 'Hidden Debt'?" by Deborah Brautigam and Yufan Huang.
This paper examines the data underpinning the recent conclusions reached by AidData, a research lab at William and Mary University. It concludes that the AidData report is unduly alarmist because it is distorted by outliers such as Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.
china-africa relations
