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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Africa sets sights on China as a top destination for military training

  • Professional military training is helping to strengthen relationships between China and African countries, in turn extending Beijing’s influence
  • One Chinese military training college includes among its African alumni 10 defence chiefs, eight defence ministers, and several former presidents

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Africa is increasingly seeing China as the go-to destination for professional military training. Illustration: Henry Wong
Jevans Nyabiage

When Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki made a state visit to Beijing in May, he fondly recalled his time doing military training there in 1967 – just a year into China’s Cultural Revolution.

It was an experience that played an important role in helping Isaias lead Eritrea’s 30-year fight for independence from Ethiopia, which it won in 1993.

“[Isaias] remains fond of China and governs Eritrea and its relations with the outside world based on his decades of experience as a revolutionary guerilla leader combined with his interpretation of Maoist philosophy,” said a 2009 confidential cable from the US embassy in Eritrea, which was published by whistle-blower platform WikiLeaks.

Isaias, who Chinese President Xi Jinping has described as “an old friend of China”, said during a meeting with Xi: “The Eritrean people will never forget the precious mental and material support the Chinese people provided for Eritrea’s independence and liberation.”

The Eritrean president is among dozens of current and former African leaders who attended Chinese military schools such as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Command College in Nanjing – which hosts the highest number of African students.
Another attendee was Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who came to power through a military coup that ousted long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in November 2017. He was one of Zimbabwe’s military chiefs who trained in Nanjing and was part of the core team in his country’s liberation struggle.

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