The Military and Security Dimensions of the PRC's Africa Presence

This report is part of a series that considers trends in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) activities across sectors in Africa in the context of global shocks. In this report, we examine the PRC’s military and security involvement in Africa.

Africa is home to many firsts for the PRC: the first People’s Liberation Army (PLA) overseas military base (in Djibouti), the first rotational deployment of PLA Navy (PLAN) anti-piracy ships, and one of Beijing’s first multilateral forums established outside of China’s periphery—the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). However, global events since 2020—the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the transition to green energy, and rising instability in regions in Africa— have affected the PRC’s interests on the continent. These changes have had implications for the PRC’s military and security presence in the region.

Key findings of this paper include the following:

• Africa has been a testing ground for PRC military and security involvement outside China’s borders.
  • The PRC’s military presence in Africa is significant. Africa is the location of the largest deployed PLA force operating outside of China’s periphery, with PLA troops deployed to Djibouti, operating in United Nations Peacekeeping missions, and conducting counterpiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
  • Since first established in 2017, the PLA base in Djibouti has expanded from a “logistics facility” designed to service rotational deployments to a major logistics base with a dedicated naval pier capable of hosting China’s largest blue-water naval vessels and a deployed PLAN Marine Corps special operations force unit able to support combat missions.
  • The PRC will likely pursue more military bases and infrastructure around the continent, including in the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa.
• The PRC remains deeply involved across Africa’s security domain, despite some setbacks.
  • The PRC leads multilateral forums such as FOCAC and the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum.
  • The PRC is building influence with African military leaders through a long-established professional military education program.
  • The PRC is increasing its arms sales to African nations as Russian sales to the continent decline.

Implications for African nations of the PRC’s involvement in Africa’s security and military sectors include the following:

• Deepening PRC multilateral security engagements could negatively impinge upon individual African nation’s sovereignty and governance across the continent.
• PRC military bases could be a political liability for African governments that host them.
• The PRC could use Africa as the testing ground for its aspirations of security assistance globally through the implementation of GSI, potentially foreshadowing a future more globally active PLA military and security presence.