Tom Bayes: Security is only one aspect of China's growing influence in Africa

The discussion of Sino-African relations continues to be dominated by China’s economic activities and aspirations. However, the People's Republic has been working for more than a decade to establish itself as a serious actor in security policy on the African continent and has already made significant progress. Former MERICS Academic Research Fellow Tom Bayes joins MERICS Experts to present his new report “China’s growing peace and security role in Africa: views from West Africa, implications for Europe” published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Mercator Institute for China Studies. He talks about challenges of doing fieldwork in the security sector and outlines China’s growing security activities in Africa, their background and objectives, perceptions among West African stakeholders and implications for Europe.