China in the Southern Mediterranean: Integrating the Greater Maghreb in the new silk road

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses the evolution of China's political and economic relations with the Greater Maghreb States (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia), a major part of the Southern Mediterranean that has attracted foreign powers. It discusses how China has gradually incorporated the Southern Mediterranean states into the New Silk Road through bilateral and multilateral relations, strategic partnerships, and the development of interconnectivity not only in the Southern Mediterranean but also onto the adjacent Sahel. Notwithstanding their dependence on Europe, the Maghreb countries' economic relations with China have grown noticeably. Due to shared historical legacy and overlapping roles, Algeria has the closest ties with China, which signed in 2014 a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Algeria, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. China strives for an environment in the region that is conducive to advancing its economic and national security interests. It seeks to enact that objective through its self-attributed roles as South-South collaborator and developer. The multilateral forums it has instituted contribute to its external altercasting of ‘developmental values’, to cultivate trust, and engage in greater socialisation with its partners. Through altercasting, Beijing expects its partners to assimilate and support its policies and accept China's national role conceptions.