On December 11, Tang Xiaoyang, professor at the department of international relations at Tsinghua University and a China Forum expert, attended a seminar held by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) themed “Russian and Chinese Peacebuilding Approaches in Africa” and spoke at the panel titled “On the Ground - Practices, Implementation, and Impacts.” The seminar explored how Russian and Chinese concepts and practices of “peacebuilding” are being advanced in Africa amid growing political, security and defense partnerships between Russia, China and their African partners.

 Over the past 15 years, China has taken on an increasingly active role in peacebuilding –mostly mediation – efforts in Africa, as a result of its growing political and economic influence there, said Tang. As an emerging player, China needs to negotiate with stakeholders to protect its investments and cooperation projects in Africa. Regarding China’s role, he clarified that China has always made the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence the cornerstone of its foreign policy, and fully respects the sovereignty of African countries and the right of peoples to self-determination. Different from the roles of the US and the EU, China acts more as a “facilitator” and “constructor” in the diplomatic and economic spheres. The complexity of African affairs calls for peaceful dialogue all the more, rather than to condemn humanitarian crises, stressed Gong.

Established in 1966, SIPRI is an independent international institution dedicated research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.