Somaliland's President on Visit to US

 Beirut Wire, an independent news and media company in Beirut, posted on 7 September 2026 an article titled "Somaliland's President Visits Washington in a Historic Push for U.S. Recognition."

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro is visiting Washington with a high-level delegation to strengthen relations with the United States, expand security cooperation, attract American investment, and advance US recognition of Somaliland.  Somalia has sent its own delegation to Washington to counter Somaliland's effort to obtain diplomatic recognition.  

Nigeria-China Security Partnership

 The Nigerian government posted on 14 July 2026 a press release titled "Nigeria-China Defence Partnership: Minister of Defence in Beijing to Drive Tech Transfer and Boost DICON's Local Manufacturing" by Samuel Anyanwu.

Nigeria's minister of defense is in China for high-level discussions on defense, security cooperation, and a strategic partnership.  The purpose of the visit is to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, fast-track the modernization of Nigeria's armed forces, and radically boost Nigeria's local military production capabilities.

Discussions have centered on concrete technology transfer, technical capacity building, and establishing joint production lines in Nigeria in direct partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).  

African Perceptions of China, US and Russia

 Afro Barometer posted on 27 February 2026 a survey titled "Popular Perceptions of Russia Lag Even as Its Influence grows Across Africa" by Aubrey Ghambi, Alfred Kwadzo, and Carolyn Logan.  

While most of the analysis is about the position of Russia in Africa, this survey of 38 African countries found that China received the best marks on positive influence (62 percent).  The United States has fallen behind at 52 percent positive rating, the European Union at 50 percent, India 39 percent, and Russia 36 percent.  The negative perceptions were more similar with China (17 percent), US (20 percent), EU (17 percent), India (20 percent), and Russia (23 percent).  

Sino-Moroccan Security Cooperation

 Morocco World News published on 11 November 2025 an article titled "Morocco, China Strengthen Security Cooperation Ahead of Interpol Assembly in Marrakech."  

Morocco's growing relations with China recently included undefined security cooperation.  The two countries agreed to "exchange expertise in various areas of security."

US, China, Africa, and Critical Minerals

 The Atlantic Council published on 6 June 2025 a study titled "Keeping China at Bay and Critical Minerals Stocked: The Case for US-Africa Defense Collaboration" by Alexsandra Gadzala Tirziu.  

Africa holds one-third of the world's known mineral resources, including 80 percent of platinum and chromium, 47 percent of cobalt, and 21 percent of graphite.  Of the 50 minerals designated as critical by the US Geological Service, 32 are found in Africa.  China accounts for 85 percent of global mineral processing capacity.

The US should help African nations develop their own domestic mineral processing capabilities to build their own self-sufficiency and to diminish China's lock on processing capacity.  This could contribute to a reliable supply source of critical minerals for the Unites States.  It could also strengthen US security alliances with African countries.  

India Hosts Joint Naval Exercise with Africans to Counter China

 Iglobalnews.com posted on 14 April 2025 an article titled "Indian Navy Conducts Historic Joint Exercise in Africa."

Three Indian naval vessels joined four from Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on 13 April as part of a two-phase joint exercise that includes participants from Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa.  Phase one includes table-top and command post exercises in Dar es Salaam focused on anti-piracy and information building.  The sea phase will focus on strengthening maritime security cooperation.  Officers and sailors from the 10 countries will spend 35 days together on one of the Indian ships to learn each other's best practices.  

Comment:  The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, earlier told the Polish Press Agency that "these maneuvers aim to counter China's growing influence in the region."

China-Russia Cooperation in Africa

 The Russian International Affairs Council and Institute of International and Strategic Studies of Peking University published in 2021 a study titled "China-Russia Bilateral Cooperation in Africa."

The report reflects the different political experiences of Russia and China in Africa and the current asymmetry of their respective  resource bases.  It also shows that Russia and China hold close positions on fundamental issues of world politics.  There are no irreconcilable differences between the two countries.  The report concludes that Russia and China are not competing for influence in Africa, but, on the contrary, can complement each other's efforts.  

NATO and China in Africa

The Friends of Europe published on 25 October 2016 a commentary titled "NATO and China in Africa" by Brooke Smith-Windsor, NATO Defense College, and Alexander Moens, Simon Fraser University.

The authors conclude that global strategic competition between Western and Chinese values does not preclude NATO and China working towards the same objectives. There are situations in Africa where NATO and China may gain strategic and tactical benefits: strategic in the sense of finding common objectives and mutually reinforcing efforts that include dialogue, and tactical in the sense of working alongside and learning from each other.

Sino-European Security Cooperation in Africa

The European Council on Foreign Relations published on 3 November 2014 a commentary titled "African Security -- A Bright Spot for Sino-European Cooperation" by Richard Gowan.  The author notes that China's increasing investments in Africa have made it increasingly sensitive to African security issues.  He suggests there is a potential for Sino-European cooperation in places like Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.  At the same time, compared to the South China Sea or Sino-Russian ties, China's security interests in Africa are marginal and not strategically important.