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China’s strategy for peace in Horn of Africa is slow-going, but will it ever reap rewards?
Beijing is taking a slow but safe approach to promoting harmony in a region of Africa beset by war and insurgencies, experts say
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In February 2022, amid Ethiopia’s deadly Tigray War, Beijing appointed veteran diplomat Xue Bing as China’s special envoy to the Horn of Africa, assigning him the difficult task of mediating disputes in a region that was in dire straits.
For two years, from November 2020 to November 2022, thousands of people were killed and millions displaced after forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. Many Chinese companies that were engaged in multibillion-dollar construction and manufacturing projects in the area had to suspend operations while Beijing was forced to evacuate its citizens.
Now, three years since Xue’s appointment, the guns of the Tigray War may have fallen silent, but the Horn of Africa is still torn by civil wars and Islamist insurgencies.
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It is a challenging role for Xue, but Beijing’s approach is one of dialogue and promoting economic development – China’s solution to most problems in the region, according to experts.
Questions remain, though, over whether China’s strategy will ever actually bring any concrete peace to the area.
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However, while the process may be slow, experts have said Beijing views supporting development and avoiding direct involvement in disputes as less risky and less likely to make enemies.
The Horn of Africa is a strategic hub for China’s expanding economic and security footprint in Africa. But currently, there is mayhem in Sudan, friction between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over water following Ethiopia’s move to build the US$4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, long-standing al-Shabab and Islamic State terrorist activity in Somalia, and ethnic strife in Ethiopia.
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