Publication

This briefing note was written for the 5th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial Conference, held in Beijing in July 2012. It discusses three priority areas: crisis response and conflict prevention, tackling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and reconstruction on post-conflict countries. The authors argue that China is not the answer to Africa’s security challenges, nor its wider development aspirations. Instead, solutions lie in the hands of African governments, political leaders and civil society. However, what does matter is ‘how’ China chooses to involve itself in these efforts.