On April 18, 2021, Professor Dries Velthuizen of the University of South Africa published an article entitled "African Peace and Security: How China Helps African Countries Improve Capabilities", positively commenting on China's ability to help Africa's peace and security capacity building .

China actively contributes to the construction of Africa

The article pointed out that China's assistance in building social and economic development capacity and social transformation education in Africa has contributed to the peace and security goals of the African Union. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is well-trained and its military knowledge can be used to improve the AU’s military intervention capabilities. China has particularly rich experience in peacebuilding, production development, and poverty alleviation after the civil war. China's non-military assistance is carried out under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation-Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021), which includes support for non-military, police and counter-terrorism activities. China also supports the construction of the African Standing Army. This force can enable the African Union to intervene in "serious situations" like genocide. China-Africa military cooperation includes intelligence exchanges, military personnel training, arms sales, and the development of regular peace and security forums. China also provides law enforcement training. China's specific military aid targets include countries in the Sahel region, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea and the Horn of Africa.

The article believes that the "Chinese model" dedicated to development may be the blueprint for African economic modernization and transformation. This model includes a "going out" strategy to find multilateral solutions to reduce development costs and share the burden of development. China's new strategy for Africa is to build its soft power. Africa’s peace, cultural exchanges, educational projects and funding for educational infrastructure are indispensable components of this strategy. This strategy is in line with China’s own interests, and building a safe investment environment is conducive to its economic development. It also helps Africa establish a transparent, responsible, and rule-based national governance system. China's investment in Africa is huge. In 2020, the global economy is in a downturn, but China-Africa trade volume is close to 180 billion U.S. dollars. Although it is less than US$208.7 billion in 2019, China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the past 12 years.

The article stated that at the multilateral level, the first China-Africa Defense Security Forum held in June 2018 promoted China-Africa security cooperation. The forum focuses on peacekeeping and peacebuilding. As part of bilateral and multilateral arrangements, China is helping many African countries build armed forces. For example, China maintains strong bilateral relations with South Africa and Rwanda, and also has strategic ties with several countries in North Africa. In this regard, China's rich military and development experience will play an important role. For African countries, cooperating with China provides an opportunity for them to eliminate the insecurity and turbulence faced by their own development and prosperity.Editor/Xing Wentao