The 43rd Chinese Naval Escort Group has completed a friendly visit to five West African countries - Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Gabon. During the visit, the sailors held anti-terrorist and anti-piracy, joint search and rescue and other exercises with African countries.
Zhou Rong, special adviser to the Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University, said in an interview with Sputnik that China is a peace-loving power and a defender of global and regional stability. Military cooperation with other countries, including the dispatch of naval forces, is aimed at maintaining peace and stability, without the desire to rattle weapons or assert their rights to someone's sovereignty, as Western countries do.
"This peaceful mission of the Chinese Navy not only demonstrates China's goodwill and friendship towards the five important African countries in the Gulf of Guinea, but also expands the scope of China's friendly exchanges with these countries, which in the past were more focused in the political and economic fields, and now expanded to military cooperation, especially in the field of security. China is sending naval escort groups, their most important task is to ensure the safety of maritime navigation," he said.
Zhou Rong also added that "China provides interested countries with new experience and helps to conduct exercises to combat terrorism, piracy and escort ships, all this has a positive effect on the development of relations between China and these countries of the African continent."
Earlier, Russian Upper House Speaker Valentina Matvienko stressed during the visit of a Russian Parliament delegation to China this month that the two countries are not rivals on the African continent.
"I am absolutely confident, [China is] not a competitor, on the contrary, Russia and China add to each other's actions on the African continent in those countries where there is a request for our participation," Matvienko said, answering a relevant question.
The official also highlighted that it is crucial to take Africa's interests into account when creating a multipolar world, as it is impossible to build a new global order without the participation of Africa's emerging economies.