For China, coups Africa are both good and bad news. On the plus side, they highlight the limits of "Western-style" democracy based on elections by universal suffrage and are an opportunity to criticize the role of former colonial powers. The bad news is that they destabilize countries, making investment more risky and, ultimately, damaging their own economic interests. But, on the whole, during these periods of crisis, "China keeps a low profile, even when it could have the means to exert some influence," said a French diplomat present in one of the countries concerned.
In his view, "it's a mistake for the West to compare the role of the Chinese with that of the Russians. In Africa, China is betting on the stability of the continent, of which they have become the main [bilateral] financial backers, while Russia is seeking, on the contrary, to destabilize it for reasons that are both strategic and related to short-term financial interests," he said. "At the UN Security Council, Russia has just vetoed a resolution extending sanctions against the junta in Mali, while China abstained," he said.
Coincidentally, the coup in Gabon took place on Wednesday, August 30, just as China was hosting the 3rd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing for six days, from August 28 to September 2. This gathering, according to the Chinese, brings together "more than 100 representatives of the African Union and nearly 50 African countries."
On Tuesday, China's Defense Minister Li Shangfu said that "the tradition of helping each other remains unchanged," and even called for "stronger cooperation" between China and Africa. According to the Xinhua news agency, the minister held "notable" talks with "defense officials" from Senegal, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Ghana, Zambia, South Sudan, Gambia, Mauritania and Uganda.
Although, unlike Russia, China does not send mercenaries to Africa and avoids military involvement in local conflicts, it does have numerous cooperation agreements with most African countries, to which it sells military and technological equipment. Its main areas of intervention are peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, fighting piracy, humanitarian aid and military training. All these areas are now part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the major international investment program launched by Xi Jinping in 2013.
There's no doubt that Africa is one of China's top diplomatic priorities. Since 1991, Chinese foreign ministers have systematically made their first trip of the year to Africa every January. "China's new hegemony in Africa is based not so much on its military might as on the development of asymmetrical economic relations, in particular loan-based infrastructure projects, as well as extraordinary diplomatic, ideological and cultural activism," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, researcher at the Asia Centre.
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