Beijing offers to broker peace in the Horn of Africa
This is the first time that the Chinese have offered to play a direct role in conflict resolution. China’s huge investments require stability in a region marked by wars and coups. However, Beijing does not want to be seen as meddling in the region’s affairs, a charge it has levelled against the United States and Europe.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – China wants to mediate the various conflicts that afflict the countries of the Horn of Africa, this according to Xue Bing, China’s special envoy to the region, who spoke at a conference on peace and governance held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The offer is no small step for China, which has never played any significant role in conflict resolution.
In the negotiations that led in 2015 to the signing of the international agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, Beijing played the role of "facilitator" between the parties (US and Iran), in some way subordinate to the European Union, certainly not the main actor at the negotiating table.
In the Russian-Ukrainian war, many leaders and observers have urged China to stop Moscow's attack. The Chinese have refused based on their strategic assessments and national interests, but also because they have not yet built diplomatic skills to mediate in such a complex situation, far from China’s traditional sphere of action in Asia.
Big economic interests seem to have prompted China to take a more proactive role in the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa.
According to the China Africa Research Initiative, China is the second leading investor in Africa after the European Union. In 2020, the flow of investments reached US$ 4.2 billion. Two of the top five beneficiaries are in East Africa, namely Kenya and Ethiopia.
Beijing also has significant interests in Djibouti, where it has built its first and, so far, only naval base outside its national borders. Sudan and South Sudan are oil suppliers, while there are less important economic relations with Eritrea and Somalia.
In his address, Xue admitted that the many border problems that plague the region are difficult to tackle, especially because they are complicated by ethno-religious tensions.
Somalia has been a battlefield for more than 30 years, with al-Shabab's Islamic extremists controlling part of the territory, from where they launch attacks in Kenya.
Since November 2020, the Ethiopian government has been at war with the forces that control the Tigray region, which has also been attacked by Eritrean troops.
Sudan and South Sudan have unresolved border issues, with the former in quasi permanent instability for years, ruled by the military since October.
Against this backdrop, Xue stressed that China wants to help settle the many disputes, respecting the will of the players in the region, while getting rid of external "interference” by the United States and Europe.
In such a quest, the Chinese will use as leverage pledges for new infrastructure investments. However, some analysts note that it will be hard for China to be recognised as “a different type of external actor”, able of settling the many conflicts between the countries concerned, as well as taking into account the demands of various non-governmental actors.
The Americans and the Europeans have failed so far and things don’t appear that encouraging for the Chinese either.
Eritrea did not attend the Addis Ababa conference, for example, nor did Somaliland. The latter is de facto independent and controls a territory claimed by Somalia, and has close ties with Taiwan.
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11/08/2017 20:05
