China has eclipsed Russia as the largest exporter of weapons to Sub-Saharan Africa. These weapons — including drones, rockets, artillery, armored vehicles, aircraft, firearms, ammunition, missiles, space systems, radar and electronic warfare systems — are flowing into conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and many other areas.
“China is economically more or less dominant in [Africa], which brought in quite a lot of influence, so now they are expanding their efforts in security affairs,” Earl Conteh-Morgan, a specialist in Chinese-African relations at the University of South Florida, told France 24.
At least 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa received large deliveries of Chinese arms between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). An estimated seven in 10 African armies now use armored vehicles made in China, the defense publication Janes reported. It is a revenue-driver for China, whose dealers hawk arms to African nations at cut-rate prices, and helps Beijing spread its influence.
“There is a larger architecture here,” Paul Nantulya of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies told The Economist. “Weapons sales fit into China wanting to be seen as a preferred partner.”
Russia’s declining export of arms to Africa is due to international sanctions amid its war with Ukraine and the need to support its armed forces.
ALSO READ Russia launches Africa military command rival to America’s AFRICOM
ALSO READ [VIEWPOINT] Building an African Model For Peace
Oluwole Ojewale, a Nigerian researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, told Voice of America that another reason African nations are turning to Beijing for arms is that Chinese deals are not governed by International Traffic in Arms regulations.
China has historically concentrated its continental efforts on East and Central Africa. It is now targeting West African nations where French influence is waning, Danilo delle Fave, a specialist in Chinese security and researcher at the nonprofit International Team for the Study of Security Verona, told France 24.
Norinco, China’s largest weapons producer, opened a new sales office in Senegal in August 2023. The company, which supplies small arms, artillery and armored vehicles, already had offices in Angola, Nigeria and South Africa, and there are plans to establish more offices in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Norinco’s arrival in Senegal shows that “Chinese companies are very opportunistic and apt at filling competitive gaps,” Luke Patey, a specialist in Chinese economic relations at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told France 24.
China has traditionally sold arms to countries such as Nigeria and Sudan that have abundant natural resources. Weapons deals in those countries facilitated Chinese access to vast oil reserves. Low-cost Chinese weapons deals are typically bundled with flexible financing arrangements, military cooperation and officer training. China is also known to include weapons to sweeten other deals or improve diplomatic and trade relations. Last year, for example, Beijing donated $28 million in military equipment to Zimbabwe.
“The Chinese are in a position where they can say that they will deliver you a whole new army and throw a railroad in,” SIPRI’s Siemon Wezeman, told The Economist.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), along with Chinese private security companies, facilitate the flow of arms. The PLA physically transfers the weapons, while the military and security companies provide training and maintenance support, all included in the overall purchase package, according to geopoliticalmonitor.com.
But the influx of Chinese weapons has also fueled ongoing conflicts. In Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces used Chinese suicide drones to attack Sudan Armed Forces military bases in April. Eyewitnesses said at least two drones targeted military installations in Gadaref, capital of al-Gadaref State. They told Reuters they heard explosions as well as antiaircraft missiles being fired from the ground. No casualties were reported.
“Sudan is a big part of China’s overall strategy in the region to bring East and North Africa more on its side,” Paul Sullivan, Middle East analyst at the Atlantic Council, told Voice of America. “It has a lot to do with business, investments, infrastructure and even education, including teaching Mandarin to Sudanese.”
China is also interested in Sudan’s gold deposits and ports, he added.
