China’s Africa Policy: the Interplay Between Continent-Based Policy and Global Strategy

Valerie Hansen， a historian of Yale University， put forward in the book The Year 1000： When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began that the beginning of globalization was marked by the Vikings’ landing in North America in A.D. 1000. Why cannot the global expansion and continuous migration of Africans be defined as globalization？ Why cannot the expansion of Arabs to West Asia， North Africa and Southern Europe in the 7th to 8th Century be regarded as globalization？ The “Eurocentrism” revealed in this research needs to be dealt with reflection and critique. Be it from the process of human development or geopolitical reality， Africa plays an important role in international affairs. China has always attached great importance to the development of its relations with Africa from a strategic perspective. The principles of sincerity， real results， amity and good faith， and pursuing the greater good and shared interests reflect the essence of China-Africa relations. With great changes in the world order， the relationship between China’s Africa policy and global strategy will be further enhanced.

Africa’s Status and Influence in the World

Geographically， North Africa， Sahel， Horn of Africa， Gulf of Guinea， Southern Africa and other regions all have important geopolitical significance. There are channels connecting East and West such as Gibraltar Strait， Mande Strait and Suez Canal， as well as Mozambique Channel， Cape of Good Hope and islands such as Madagascar linking the Atlantic Ocean with Indian Ocean， which determines Africa strategic impact on “two oceans and three seas” （Atlantic Ocean， Indian Ocean， Mediterranean Sea， Red Sea and Arabian Sea）. Take the Sahel as an example， it is 3，800 kilometers long and home to 10 countries including Senegal， Mauritania and Mali， etc.. In 2014， Burkina Faso， Chad， Mali， Mauritania and Niger established the Group of Five for the Sahel， which is dedicated to promoting regional development and cooperation. The region is an important commercial hub and a route for ethnic migration， religious communication and cultural exchange. The United States and Europe have either trained troops in the Sahel or intervened in the form of military bases or aid.

Christianity， Islam and indigenous religions each has followers of about one-third of Africa’s total population， and there are migrated Hindus and Buddhists. There are about 667 million Christians， and Islamic states are concentrated in West Africa and North Africa. So， is the relationship between religions harmonious or confrontational？ Senegal is one of the typical examples of religious harmony. More than 90% of its population are Muslims. Mr. Senghor， the first president of the Republic of Senegal， was a Catholic. The country however enjoyed political stability and economic development during his presidency.

Africa is rich in mineral resources， with a variety of mineral reserves ranking first in the world. Rich in oil and natural gas， Libya， Nigeria， Algeria， South Sudan and Angola account for more than 90% of the continent’s oil reserves. And 91.5% of natural gas is located in Algeria， Egypt， Libya and Nigeria. Forests account for 21% of the total area， and there are more than 40，000 kinds of plants. Grassland accounts for 27% of the total area， topping all continents in the world. Fishery resources are concentrated in some coastal countries， among which Morocco ranks first in Africa and 13th in the world in fishery production.

European capitalism embodied by the UK laid the foundation for the colonial system in modern times， and the exploitation of African colonies catalyzed the global expansion of capitalism. These former suzerains are still trying to keep hold of their influence. France has military bases in countries such as Chad and sent troops to intervene in regional conflicts in case of “emergency”. Diego Garcia in Chagos Archipelago is a UK colony and leased to the United States to build a military base in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius’ demand for the UK to return Chagos Archipelago is met with wide international support， but the UK refused to cede sovereignty， turning a blind eye to the expiration of the UN deadline.

Africa’s influence on international politics is reflected in the distribution of political camps， the international stand of OAU/AU， its strategic position and its increasingly prominent independence in international affairs. When China returned to the United Nations， most affirmative votes were from African countries. The United States established the US Africa Command in 2007， and most African countries have reservations about it. The Union the Arab Maghreb， the Southern African Development Community， Uganda， Nigeria， South Africa and Libya all oppose the United States building military bases in Africa. The United States consequently had to set up its Africa Command in Germany.

The AU has outstanding consistency in dealing with internal affairs in Africa and international issues. The border demarcation of African countries is one of the consequences of colonial rule. African political leaders have been paying close attention to the border issue as a “serious and permanent factor of discord” since independence. The Charter of the Organization of African Unity clearly stipulates “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each State and its inalienable right to independent existence ... that member States shall guarantee to resolve all disputes between them by peaceful means ... and that all member States guarantee to respect the borders that existed when they achieved national independence”. For more than 60 years， African countries have tried their best to avoid conflicts caused by unreasonable demarcation lines. There are many African countries and three non-permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council. The majority voting weight and unanimous collective proposition makes Africa an important force in international affairs. For example， at the 10th emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly on October 27， 2023， African countries pushed for the adoption of a resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by an overwhelming majority （120 votes in favor， 14 votes against and 45 abstentions）， regardless of the opposition of the United States. On November 2， 2023， the 78th United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the draft resolution “Necessity of ending the economic， commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba” submitted by Cuba.