Deciphering Beijing’s Digital Connection in Africa

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is the reincarnation of the historical Silk Road that is being built to facilitate trade and commerce between China and the Eurasian and African nations through infrastructure building, including internet infrastructure. The actualisation of this initiative involves connectivity by road, rail and sea. Digital connectivity would be another vital aspect of the digital silk route. The topic of China’s expanding digital infrastructure is often understated. The digital aspect of the BRI should be the most weighted issue especially for African states that are still in the preliminary stages of building digital infrastructure as it could generate security concerns in the foreseeable future.

Background

The BRI was officially launched in 2013 and soon became an instrumental part of China’s foreign policy. Beijing’s connectivity project envisages a web of Chinese funded physical and digital infrastructure. In March 2015, an official blueprint on BRI highlighted China’s interest in creating an information silk road which includes the building of fiber optic cable networks, mobile structures, satellite passageways and e-commerce link.1 Even the 2017 speech of President Xi Jinping in the BRI forum outlined the importance of next generation technologies like quantum computing, cloud computing, nanotechnology, big data, and artificial intelligence to facilitate innovation driven development.2 Undeniably, many of these digital investment projects may appear lucrative and attractive on the surface, however, bleaker portends lie underneath. The most debated concern has been that of the debt trap that would besiege the recipient countries leaving them vulnerable to China’s influence.3 Another major concern is the increasing expanse of Chinese internet and digital technology companies in the African continent. China’s “no questions asked” investment style along with cheap customised products are facilitating the growth of many of its companies in the continent. Simultaneously, there are rising fears regarding the spread of China’s model of internet control and repression.

Concerns regarding China’s Digital Investments

A large number of Chinese investments and digital technologies are pouring into the African continent. Zambia is spending USD 1 billion on China-built surveillance, telecommunications and broadcasting equipment.4 Neighbouring Zimbabwe signed a contract with a Chinese company named CloudWalk Technology, to implement facial recognition across the country, with cameras expected to be installed at city streets, airports as well as transit facilities by Hikvision (a Chinese firm).5 Alibaba signed three agreements with Rwanda to create an online platform to facilitate the Rwandan ecommerce market.6 In Mauritius, off Africa’s east coast, Huawei (Chinese telecom giant) is installing 4000 cameras.7 In South Africa, Huawei will open a new cloud data services center. The company is also advising Kenya on its Information and Communication Technology master plan. Huawei and ZTE are capturing the African digital market in a big way.8 In a report prepared by McKinsey, a consultancy firm, it was stated that nearly half of the Chinese companies in Africa have introduced a new product or service in the digital sector.9

China has also been promoting the use of Beidou which is often called the “digital glue” that would weave all Chinese technologies into a single thread.10 Beidou is an alternative to the US’s Global Positioning System (GPS) system and will most likely become an “essential” for smart phone users across the BRI economies.

Many Africans do believe that Chinese investments are actually a welcome change as opposed to the west, which has only exploited them for the selfish gains.11 No doubt, China has a good way of spotting trends, making cost-effective products and understanding the needs of the customer that allows it to easily capture the market. But there is also a growing concern within the continent that is not just about the Chinese investments, but rather the import of the Chinese way of dealing with the internet.12 There are many bloggers that point out the government’s ability to control the internet and monitor all digital devices. Many reports also highlight that the net freedom index and freedom of speech have continued to fall in many parts of Africa.13 This raises apprehension for the fragile democracies in the continent as the intersection of politics and technology has already resulted in the securitisation of the internet in countries like Ethiopia; imbibing China’s internet governance model may worsen the scenario in many places.14

China’s benign gift of the headquarters’ building to the African Union (AU) caused much consternation regarding “backdoor access” to humongous data of public records, government documents and financial data.15 In an investigation report brought forth by a French newspaper, China was alleged of inserting a backdoor in African Union’s servers that allowed the copying of confidential data on to servers in Shanghai. Although, China has denied the allegations but the prevalent fears continue to haunt the China built AU headquarters.16 Potential threats to national security on grounds of espionage and data theft had also motivated the US and its allies, namely Australia and Japan, to rethink its investment plans with Huawei.17

Limited technical capability of the Africans often favors China’s aim of investing in digital infrastructure as China will have to directly operate the African system for some period and train the citizens before giving full control back. In a report, it was also highlighted that all facial data collected in Zimbabwe has to be sent to China so that the company could refine its algorithm. This means that Zimbabwe may not have exclusive control over its data. Thus, this could be a lingering security concern that Africa might have to face in the foreseeable future.

The Way Ahead

As the digital infrastructure backed by China becomes increasingly prevalent in the African continent, it is also important for the latter to have enough oversight to ensure that these tools are not misused. Moreover, it would be more beneficial for Africa to allow other players to thrive in the region. For instance, India has successfully launched unique digital initiatives aimed at digital transformations. Additionally, the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation are also formulating strategies in creating the right condition for strengthening digital infrastructure and ensuring that digital economies flourish in the region. Furthermore, they are working towards supporting the start-ups to create jobs and develop new products and services for the African markets.

Africa should learn to leverage the technologies and infrastructure provided by China and aim to build and promote their own indigenous digital ecosystem. This integrated approach of Africa would give them more bargaining power over China and other players. Moreover, indigenously started initiatives would also allow the country to draft its own internet governance rules and regulation rather than blindly following any nation. This would also enable them to take charge of their data and ensure its protection by providing and promoting the local companies. It is pertinent for Africa to start playing by its own rules in the digital era, lest it becomes a case of too little too late.

Ms. Kritika Roy is Research Analyst with the IDSA Cyber Security Centre of Excellence (ICCoE).

• 1. John Chipman, “China’s long and winding Digital Silk Road”, IISS, at https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2019/01/china-digital-silk-road (Accessed on April 22, 2019).
• 2. Full text of President Xi’s speech at opening of Belt and Road forum, Xinhua, May 14, 2017, at http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-05/14/c_136282982.htm (Accessed on April 24, 2019).
• 3. Kari Lindberg and Tripti Lahiri, “From Asia to Africa, China’s “debt-trap diplomacy” was under siege in 2018”, The Quartz, December 28, 2018, at https://qz.com/1497584/how-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy-came-under-siege-in-2018/ (Accessed on April 22, 2019).
• 4. Sheridan Prasso, “China’s Digital Silk Road Is Looking More like an Iron Curtain”, Bloomberg Businessweek, January 10, 2019, at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-01-10/china-s-digital-silk-road-is-looking-more-like-an-iron-curtain (Accessed on April 25, 2019).
• 5. Daniel Kliman, Rush Doshi, Kristine Lee, and Zack Cooper, “Grading China’s Belt and Road”, CNAS, April 2019, at https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/CNAS+Report_China+Belt+and+Road_final.pdf (Accessed on May 01, 2019).
• 6. “The Promise and Peril of Chinese Tech Investment in Africa”, The China Africa Project, February 2019, see https://soundcloud.com/chinatalkingpoints/the-promise-and-peril-of-chinese-tech-investment-in-africa (Accessed on May 01, 2019).
• 7. See n. 4.
• 8. Emeka Umejei, “Will China’s Investments Reshape Africa’s Internet?”, China Digital Times, December 6, 2018, at https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2018/12/the-imitation-game-will-chinas-investments-reshape-africas-internet/ (Accessed on May 03, 2019).
• 9. Justina Crabtree, “‘China is everywhere’ in Africa’s rising technology industry”, CNBC, July 28, 2017, at https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/china-is-everywhere-in-africas-rising-technology-industry.html (Accessed on May 05, 2019).
• 10. “China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Takes to Space”, The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2016, at https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/12/28/chinas-one-belt-one-road-takes-to-space/ (Accessed on May 02, 2019).
• 11. See n. 4.
• 12. Ibid
• 13. Abdi Latif Dahir, “China is exporting its digital surveillance methods to African governments”, Quartz Africa, November 01, 2018, at https://qz.com/africa/1447015/china-is-helping-african-countries-control-the-internet/ (Accessed on May 03, 2019).
• 14. See n. 8.
• 15. See n. 13.
• 16. Abdi Latif Dahir, “China “gifted” the African Union a headquarters building and then allegedly bugged it for state secrets”, Quartz Africa, January 30, 2018, at https://qz.com/africa/1192493/china-spied-on-african-union-headquarters-for-five-years/ (Accessed on May 03, 2019).
• 17. “Why are countries banning Huawei?”, Aljazeera, December 7, 2018, at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/countries-banning-huawei-181206130850129.html (Accessed on May 07, 2019).