As China-Horn of Africa Peace Conference ends, Beijing’s envoy offers to play regional security role
- The Horn, where China has substantial investment interests, has long been racked by civil wars, Islamist insurgencies and military coups
- China will help with ‘peacekeeping and cooperate in law enforcement’ as well as development in the region, says Xue Bing
As China seeks to play a bigger role in promoting peace and security in the Horn of Africa, it faces complex challenges in bringing lasting stability to the region, where it has large investment and security interests.
During the China-Horn of Africa Peace Conference, the Chinese special envoy for the region, Xue Bing, said China wanted a more important role “not only in trade and investments but also in the area of peace and development”.
“This is the first time for China to play a role in the area of security,” Xue said on Tuesday.
“Beijing will also provide assistance in kind, in peacekeeping, cooperate in law enforcement and speed up the assistance of criminal investigation lab equipment to countries in the region,” he added.
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In joint statement released at the end of the conference on Tuesday, participants said they had agreed to “uphold the vision to work together to maintain peace and security in the region”.