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Danger zones along new Silk Road an opportunity for Chinese security firms

More companies are expected to set up operations along the trade route, which passes through dangerous areas, and the PLA has shown little inclination to take up the extra duty

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Private security contractor DeWe Group has more than 8,000 employees operating in 37 countries, it says. Photo: Handout
Frank Tangin Beijing

Li Xiaopeng’s career as a security specialist includes stints in the ­police force and behind the scenes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Now his sights are set on much wider horizons.

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Li, chairman of Beijing-based private security contractor DeWe Group, is looking to help his company cash in on the vast security needs that could be generated by the new Silk Road, China’s big plan to link the country through trade and infrastructure to the rest of the world.

So far Beijing has shown little inclination to deploy the People’s Liberation Army to fortify projects along the proposed routes, which wind through some of the world’s most remote and dangerous ­territories.
Many of DeWe Group’s managers are retired soldiers from China’s special forces. Photo: Handout
Many of DeWe Group’s managers are retired soldiers from China’s special forces. Photo: Handout

That leaves the gates open in part to private players like DeWe, one of a growing army of security providers jostling to cater to a growing Chinese corporate market with offshore energy, mining and infrastructure projects. Other big names in the game are China Security and Protection Group and Huaxin Zhongan Group.

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