Triangular Cooperation for Peace: Energy Supply and the Fight against Piracy as Common Agenda for Sino-European-African Relations in the Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea has been a hotspot for global security due to the recurring action of pirates in a region with increasing relevance for oil and gas supply, particularly to the manufacturing-intensive regions of China and Europe. After the disruption of energy markets triggered by the war of Russia against Ukraine, the strategic importance of the Gulf for Beijing and Brussels only became more crucial. How to avoid a Sino-European clash in that part of the world? By scrutinizing the Chinese and European strategies to counter security and energy challenges related to the Gulf of Guinea, this chapter aims to identify a common ground for the development of a triangular cooperative agenda comprising African States, China, and the European Union (EU). We first explore the sources of mistrust between Chinese and European diplomacy in the Guinea Gulf, including the EU Maritime Security Strategy Action Plan, the continuous presence of British forces in the South Atlantic, and the ongoing construction of a maritime base by China in Equatorial Guinea. In doing so, we also identify that Beijing and Brussels compete for influence in the region through financial statecraft, which comprises aid and investment. Strategic competition, however, can be replaced by strategic cooperation through triangular partnerships between China and Europe, on the one hand, and regional intergovernmental organizations (RIGOs), on the other, including the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the South Atlantic Zone of Peace and Cooperation (ZOPACAS). Other relevant non-Gulf actors include Brazil, South Africa, UK, and the US.