Options for security cooperation with Europe
For the last three years the European Union has been trying to wheedle China into trilateral partnership with Africa. But Beijing is still reluctant to accept proposals for coordinating development aid or joining forces to pull the African economy out of its commodity trap. If anything will persuade the People's Republic of China to take the EU more seriously, it is China's enormous vulnerability to Africa's endemic political instability and violence. In the long run, China cannot maintain its presence without solid security cooperation. Europe should demonstrate that it is not only an important economic actor, but also an inevitable partner in tackling Africa's many security challenges.
Jonathan Holslag, 11 December 2009