China is rapidly expanding its military engagement with African countries through a combination of joint exercises, growing arms sales, officer training programs, and deeper security cooperation under its Global Security Initiative.

This widening footprint is generating unease in the United States, where policymakers and analysts are particularly worried about unsubstantiated claims that the PLA is seeking to build a base somewhere along Africa's Atlantic coast.

Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, and Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, a post-doctoral fellow at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, join Eric & Géraud to explain why Chinese security outreach is getting so much traction across Africa.

📌 Topics covered in this episode:

The scope of PLA military engagement across Africa
Debates in Washington over Chinese bases and port access
How the Djibouti model shapes fears of future expansion
China's Global Security Initiative and what it really means
Policing cooperation, surveillance, and domestic security ties
The surge in Chinese arms sales, drones, and equipment
China's growing security footprint in the Sahel
Critical minerals and the security dimension of China-Africa relations
What US lawmakers are asking about China's role in the DRC and regional stability

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China's Expanding Military Engagement Across Africa

The China in Africa Podcast