CONCLUSION
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Russia and China are neither partners nor competitors in Africa. Instead, their interaction there can best be described as compartmentalized: each is aware that the other has interests in Africa, and is using a combination of instruments to pursue those interests and build its influence. Rather than formally cooperate or compete, they generally stay out of each other’s way. What cooperation there is, is ad hoc; what competition there is, is limited in scope and has not yet impacted their overall relationship. The two appear to have found an informal division of labor, where China focuses on finances, infrastructure, trade, and technological development, and Russia focuses on arms sales (although China has overtaken it here), regime survival, and parlaying these into what economic gains it can, primarily through resource extraction. This section of this report reviews the main areas of where Russian and Chinese interests converge and diverge, and draws inferences for their overall relationship. A main area where their interests converge is their shared goal of eroding Western influence in Africa. But they diverge over how to do this. China prefers to offer alternative models of governance, development, and security to those offered by the West in the hope that African states will embrace those models and reject Western ones. Russia prefers to undermine Western states and international institutions in Africa without offering alternatives. In essence, China is a builder and Russia is a disruptor in Africa. Their attitudes toward stability in Africa will be an issue they need to manage moving forward. China needs stability for the long-term return on its economic investments there, but Russia foments instability because it provides opportunities for the Africa Corps. China's desire for stability could eventually cause it to resent Russia’s role as an agent of chaos on the continent. As dangerous as Russia’s African escapades might be for China over the long term, they offer some short-term benefits. First, they allow China to retain its image as a win-win partner while Russia pays the reputational and security costs. Next, if chaos drives out Western investment, China stands to gain.
// RUSSIA AND CHINA IN AFRICA Delphi Global Research Center
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