China’s private security firms to shield against ‘terrorist sabotage’ as Xi Jinping looks to protect overseas assets
- More former People’s Liberation Army and police members could serve as mercenaries overseas as China aims to protect its assets and people abroad
- Private security is said to be in the early stages of being useful as a strategic tool for Beijing to project power and protect its interests abroad
Private security firms will play a much more significant role in protecting assets related to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative after President Xi Jinping discussed enhancing overseas security at the 20th party congress, according to analysts.
The total market value of global private military or security companies is between US$100 billion and US$244 billion, according to a report released this month by Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, a conservative defence policy think tank.
China, Latin America and Asia-Pacific countries were also expected to account for the largest growth in overseas security spending between 2019 and 2023, according to information from the International Data Corporation, a global market-intelligence firm, that was cited in a 2020 report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.
And Paul Nantulya, a research associate with the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies in Washington, said that China’s strategic shift from keeping a low profile to claiming global leadership sets the stage for the expansion of Chinese overseas security contracting.
“There will be more recruitment of security firms run by ex-People’s Liberation Army and ex-Chinese police to provide security for Chinese state-owned enterprises involved in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative’s multimillion-dollar programmes,” Nantulya said.
Findings from the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt also point to investments in belt and road projects being massively over-concentrated in unstable or conflict-affected environments such as Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.