Archive · 14 Jan 2026
China Expands Global Security Influence
China is becoming a big player in global security.
It's helping other countries with police training and high-tech surveillance tools.
This is part of a plan called the Global Security Initiative, started by China's leader, Xi Jinping.
China says it's all about keeping the world safe and not interfering in other countries' affairs.
But some people worry that China's help might make other governments more controlling.
For example, China has trained police in many countries, including some that aren't very democratic.
It's also selling a lot of surveillance cameras and internet-control technology.
While this can help fight crime, it can also be used to monitor and control people.
China's approach is different from Western countries because it doesn't tie its help to political conditions.
This makes it popular with many governments, but it also raises concerns about how this might affect people's freedoms.
China is expanding its global security influence through the Global Security Initiative (GSI), offering police training and surveillance technology to foreign governments.
China has provided nearly 900 police training sessions to 138 countries since 2000, with a focus on authoritarian regimes and flawed democracies.
Chinese firms Hikvision and Dahua are the world's biggest surveillance-camera makers, and Huawei supplies its Safe City systems to over 100 countries.
China's security assistance is popular with many governments because it comes with no strings attached, but it raises concerns about potential repression and reduced freedoms for citizens.
China's approach to security diplomacy is values-free, making it hard for Western countries to compete, and it is leading to a more transactional and cynical world where states are stronger, but citizens are weaker.
- Who
- China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, is expanding its global security influence through the Global Security Initiative (GSI).
- What
- China is offering foreign governments police training, surveillance technology, and security assistance to maintain internal stability and combat crime.
- When
- The GSI was launched in 2022, and China has rapidly expanded its security activities since then.
- Where
- China's security influence is spreading globally, with a focus on Central and South-East Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands.
- Why
- China aims to build new networks of international influence centered on itself and promote its vision of global security, which emphasizes non-interference and internal stability.
- Global Security Initiative (GSI)
- Launched by Xi Jinping in 2022
- Global Public Security Co-operation Forum
- China's biggest international security event
- Surveillance-tech exports
- Soaring, with Hikvision and Dahua leading the market
- Police training sessions
- Nearly 900 since 2000 to 138 countries
- Huawei's Safe City systems
- Supplied to over 100 countries
- Geedge Networks
- Sold internet-control technology to Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, and Pakistan
- Chinese police training
- 82% of authoritarian regimes and 31% of full democracies have received training
- Chinese security assistance
- Empowers authoritarians without explicitly promoting authoritarianism