While the ability to buy expensive high-tech weapons is lower in African countries compared to neighbours close to China, China has looked to challenge US influence in Asia with more intimate (military and economic) relations with the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The same is not evident in Africa. It has been common knowledge that China has historically linked arms sales to close neighbours with foreign policy considerations, extending this to African countries is far less straightforward. Although this does not mean China has no future ambitions to use arms exports as a foreign policy tool, evidence from arms exports over the past ten years presents a far less compelling case in the present. Instead, China’s interests in Africa seem to remain mainly economic (e.g., Forum on China-Africa Cooperation) focusing on trade (China is Africa’s largest trading partner) and investment deals with arms sale transactions in a demand and supply basis.
China has looked to challenge US influence in Asia with more intimate (military and economic) relations with the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh The same is not evident in Africa. It has been common knowledge that China has historically linked arms sales to close neighbours with foreign policy considerations, extending this to African countries is far less straightforward. Although this does not mean China has no future ambitions to use arms exports as a foreign policy tool, evidence from arms exports over the past ten years presents a far less compelling case China’s interests in Africa seem to remain mainly economic focusing on trade and investment deals with arms sale transactions in a demand and supply basis