China’s state security has a growing footprint in Africa. The Belt and Road Initiative has revealed a security vulnerability for China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) in Africa. Chinese state security involvement in Africa ranges from the deployment of law enforcement and the use of commandos to the training and education of local governments.

The number of personnel associated with Chinese state security has grown dramatically in the past decade. China’s motivations include enterprise security, the spreading of soft power, and intelligence collection.