Shaping power and strategic security framing: China’s Global Security Initiative in Africa, the development–security nexus, and the case of Ethiopia

Abstract

This article examines widely overlooked shifts in China’s interactions with African states resulting from the all-encompassing securitization of politics under Xi Jinping. It argues that Beijing seeks to increase China’s discursive and shaping power capacities through strategic security framing, reaching out to the group of African states via the Forum on China−Africa Cooperation. The Global Security Initiative (GSI) illustrates China’s aspiration to universalize its security concepts and create an international environment that aligns with its strategic interests. Chinese academic discourse viewed Ethiopia as a critical case for exploring the practical implementation of the GSI. By analysing China’s engagement with Ethiopia, this article evaluates the potential and limits of Chinese influence − or, as China frames it, ‘shaping power’. The findings indicate that while China’s discursive power has expanded, this has not yet translated into significant political influence on the ground.