China-Africa cooperation looks beyond zero-sum competition

Traditional Western approaches to international relations generally regard Africa as a frontier of geopolitical competition. However, the partnership between China and Djibouti shows that development cooperation itself can reshape the security architecture, while connectivity can redefine the logic of regional order.

Located at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti is a key maritime hub connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. As China aligns the Belt and Road Initiative with Djibouti's Vision 2035, bilateral cooperation has become a typical example of China-Africa collaboration.

Since they established diplomatic ties in 1979, China and Djibouti have treated each other with equality and mutual respect.

The bilateral relationship was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024. Major cooperation projects, such as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, Doraleh Multipurpose Port and Djibouti International Free Trade Zone have steadily advanced.

China has sent medical teams to Djibouti, built hospitals, schools and water-supply facilities to improve the lives of the local people. It has also assisted Djibouti in cultivating local talent for its port and railway sectors through the Luban Workshop, an international project that promotes vocational education.

Sichuan Normal University set up a Confucius Institute in Djibouti, where there is a growing interest in learning the Chinese language and a growing demand for vocational education among local youth.

In recent years, China-Djibouti cooperation has expanded into green development and the digital economy, covering areas such as meteorological early warning systems, disaster prevention and mitigation capacity building, and the digitization of Djibouti's international free trade zone.

This indicates that cooperation between China and African countries is evolving from traditional cooperation that focused on infrastructure to cooperation that is more eco-friendly, digital and intelligent.

The experience of China-Djibouti cooperation shows that development cooperation has emerged as an important factor influencing the international order, because it transcends the theoretical framework for international relations based on zero-sum competition. Countries of the Global South can choose paths to modernization according to their own national conditions.

In handling international relations, China upholds consultation, connectivity and shared development, rather than following the logic of power. Relations between China and African countries have entered a new stage of jointly building an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era.

Djibouti is significant not only in geopolitical terms, but more importantly, as a vivid embodiment of the joint growth of China and African countries.

It is through such continuous and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and other countries that the community with a shared future for humanity is taking shape.