China’s security playbook in Africa raises promise, and alarms

China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI),launched in 2022 by President Xi Jinping,is increasingly shaping Africa’s security architecture,drawing both support and scrutiny across the continent.

According to a new analysis by the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies,the GSI is rapidly reshaping security partnerships across Africa,embedding Chinese norms into military,policing,and governance structures on the continent. Framed around cooperative security and non-interference,the GSI presents itself as a “Global South” alternative to Western-led security models — but its deeper agenda is raising alarm among African thought leaders. Through the China-Africa FOCAC platform,China has mainstreamed the GSI via military exchanges,officer training,joint operations,and infrastructure protection agreements.

The current FOCAC Action Plan (2025–2027) targets training 6,000 senior African officers,500 early-career soldiers,and 1,000 police personnel,the report notes. Law enforcement collaborations,such as the Ethiopia-China Law Enforcement Center and Chinese security presence near Belt and Road assets,signal how the GSI increasingly influences African internal security affairs. Joint operations,including with Uganda and Ethiopia,and rising Chinese involvement in Belt and Road infrastructure protection signal a more assertive Chinese security presence.

While some African governments welcome the initiative as a source of aid and affordable security hardware,critics warn of deeper implications,stressing it risks entrenching authoritarian tendencies by prioritizing regime security over citizen rights. Experts have also voiced concerns over China’s growing export of surveillance tools,potentially undermining civil liberties. China’s “common security” narrative is proving attractive — but African civil society voices stress the need for stronger safeguards and strategic autonomy. As the GSI expands,its impact on Africa’s democratic governance and geopolitical positioning will demand close scrutiny.