After Djibouti, it’s Benin… China has started increasing its influence in the West African nation by offering financial, as well as military, aid.

Beijing has rightly realised the importance of the strategic location of Republic of Benin where the largest part of the population lives on the southern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. Hence, a naval base in Benin would allow the Red Army to have direct access to the Atlantic and to directly challenge the US Navy in its backyard. China recently got that opportunity. Beijing provided Porto-Novo with a large amount of military aid in August 2024. China also sent tanks and ammunition to Benin, as the Armed Forces of the African country have been fighting a bloody battle with the Islamic extremists in the northern region for a long time. The top political leadership in Benin appreciated the Chinese help, stating that it was a timely one.

Political analysts are of the opinion that the benevolent attitude of China is set to have far-reaching geopolitical implications. They believe that in return, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would get permission to set up a naval base in the Gulf of Guinea in the coming days. It may be noted that China has been quietly working towards achieving this goal for the past few decades.

In most cases, the Xi Jinping Administration prefers to make two types of moves. China has lured several African countries by showing the greed of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the pretext of infrastructure development. The main disadvantage of BRI is the huge amount of debt! Initially, Beijing sanctioned loans for a number of African countries despite knowing that they could not repay it. Then, the Chinese companies developed infrastructures (like roads, bridges, railway tracks, etc.) in those countries. As per the terms of the contract, there is no provision to outsource the development works to any other country! In this manner, Beijing recollects the entire amount of loans through the Chinese companies.

Secondly, political unrest and civil wars are going on in various African countries. Taking advantage of this situation, China is constantly supplying arms to those troubled nations. Therefore, the entire Dark Continent has gradually become dependent on Beijing as President Xi has got them dancing to his tune. Benin is no exception. Mathieu Kérékou (September 2, 1933 – October 14, 2015), who seized control of Benin in a military coup in 1972, proclaimed a one-party Marxist State and served as President from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. He was the undisputed leader of the West African country. Benin established diplomatic relations with China during his reign and Kérékou had visited Beijing several times to strengthen bilateral ties.

China has invested a lot in Benin since President Xi announced his Africa Policy in 2013. According to a section of defence analysts, the African country has become fully dependent on China in terms of national security. Hence, Porto-Novo may allow the Red Army to set up a naval base on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. In 2022, China exported items, including cycles, motorcycles, large iron pipes and light pure woven cotton, worth USD 1.49 billion to Benin. The bilateral trade has grown at a rate of 1% every year in recent times. The Asian Giant also runs computer centres there.

Benin maintains close trade ties with the southern Chinese Provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong. A company, named Zhejiang Teams International, helped Benin to set up the Economy and Trade Development Centre in 2009. Currently, around 700 Chinese companies enjoy the opportunity to do business there. From cosmetic oils to daily necessities, everything is available at that Centre. According to official data, China has loaned USD 536 million to Benin since 2000! Beijing has also invested USD 4 billion in Benin’s railway system only. Furthermore, China has played a significant role in the healthcare industry of Benin as 576 Chinese doctors have performed nearly 80,000 surgeries and treated three million patients there over the years! During the outbreak of Ebola virus in 2014, Chinese officials trained more than 1,600 Beninese healthcare workers in safety protocols and medical treatments for the disease.

Now, China has started influencing Benin’s political and social affairs by offering various sorts of help. It is not at all difficult for the Asian Giant to safeguard its interests in Africa by influencing the administrative authorities in Porto-Novo. Beijing is also influencing Latin American countries with its Debt-trap Diplomacy, a Chinese foreign policy strategy of lending money to low-income countries in order to gain political leverage. However, the Chinese ships have to cover a long maritime route to reach Latin America. Hence, the PLA has decided to set up a naval base in the Gulf of Guinea (in Benin). It would allow the PLA to face the US Navy in the Atlantic.

As per President Xi’s Africa Policy, China wants to end the hegemony of the Western world, including the US, in the Dark Continent. In fact, Beijing wants to turn the African countries into its financial colonies! At a later stage, it may also try to spread its own culture in Africa in an attempt to gain the support of the African people. In such a situation, the US and its Western allies have decided to rescue Benin from the Chinese debt-trap. Countries, like India, Brazil and Turkey, are also trying hard to boost trade ties with this country.

However, it is quite difficult to free Benin from the Chinese influence, keeping in mind the Conflict Dynamics in Africa.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das