China-Africa Political and Security Relations: An Analysis of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Documents

Abstract

There has been a tremendous growth in China-Africa relations in the last twenty years. As part of this growth political and security links between them have also grown. In the security sphere statements issued by FOCAC have consistently called for greater African representation in the UN Security Council. During the last two decades or so China’s substantive involvements in African security have been through UN and AU peacekeeping operations and the multinational antipiracy effort off Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Using Shinn and Eisenman’s Optimist-Pessimist dual framework this paper will analyze contemporary China-Africa political and security relations with a particular focus on documents produced by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). It will employ an interpretive methodology to analyze FOCAC documents. This analysis will both substantiate and problematize the Optimist and Pessimist perspectives that make up the framework. It identifies zero-sum thinking as a weakness common to key postulates of both the perspectives. In the Optimist perspective China provides Africa with a political counterweight to the West. In the Pessimist perspective the strengthening of China-Africa relations constitutes an unwelcome challenge to the West in Africa. In both cases the gain of one party results in a loss for another party. In the first case Africa’s gain results in a loss for the West, and in the second case China’s gain results in a loss for the West. In order to rectify this weakness this paper calls for greater non-zero sum thinking in responding to the growing China-Africa relationship aimed at realizing joint gains for all parties. It argues that the cooperation between China and Africa is not aimed at challenging the contemporary world order led by the West but rather at improving their position within it.