Executive Summary

The expansion of Chinese outbound investments, aimed to sustain the increased need for natural resources, has amplified the magnitude of a possible international crisis that the People’s Republic of China may face in the near future. Consequently, the threats to China’s enterprises and Chinese workers based on foreign soil are poised to increase. Fragile states that acquire Chinese technology and infrastructure, granting exploitation rights of natural resources to Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), do not have the capacity to assure adequate security. Therefore, Chinese infrastructure and personnel could be an easy target by politically motivated rebel groups, or even criminal gangs who perceive Chinese citizens as wealthy targets. This policy brief attempts to address the impact of the Chinese private security companies (PSCs) in protecting Chinese outbound investments and citizens focusing on engaging China towards a mutually agreed code of conduct. Although the rising and falling cycle of the security services privatisation is nothing new, this paper underlines the uncertainty that still surrounds the research on Chinese PSCs. The impact of “Private Security Companies with Chinese Characteristics” is going to profoundly affect the security landscape and an early adoption of internationally agreed rules and regulation will foster transparency, efficiency and sustainable development. This policy brief examines the practical aspects for Chinese PSC engagements and the supervision on the provision of their services.

Failing to include China in an international code of conduct could allow history to repeat itself; as it happened during the African post-colonial wars that have been negatively affected by the employment of highly trained but unaccountable mercenaries.

About the Author

Dr Alessandro Arduino is the co–director of the Security & Crisis Management program at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science (SASS) and Center for Advanced Studies on Contemporary China (CASCC), Director of the Center for International Relations and Applied Political Studies at Ablai Khan University. He received his PhD from Milan Bicocca University, MSc from University of London SOAS, MA from University of Turin Oriental Studies department and training by the World Bank Institute. His main research interests include China’s political economics, Sino-Central Asia relations, Sovereign Wealth Funds, China’s security and foreign policy. He is the author of several books and he has published papers and commentaries in various journals in Italian, English, Chinese and Russian languages: ECRAN Europe China Research and Advisory network, EAST Europe Asia Strategies, China Weekly, the Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Institute of World Economy and Politics IWEP, Mondo Cinese, Orizzonte Cina T.wai, International Affairs Institute IAI, Italian Financial Police GdF. He has been appointed Knight of the Order of the Italian Star of Solidarity by the President of the Italian Republic.