Cabo Verde-China Relations: How Can a Small State Navigate between Great Powers

Cabo-Verde-China relations have rapidly developed in the last two decades. China has provided a lot of assistance to this small archipelagic nation located in the Atlantic Ocean, around 400 kilometres west of the Africa continent. Several Chinese companies, including Huawei, are active there. A Confucius Institute has been opened in Praia, the country’s capital, and the Chinese government has built and donated a brand new campus to the University of Cabo Verde. Yet, Cabo Verde remains closer to the West, both the United States, which for security reasons is worried about China’s inroads, and the European Union which has for a long time established a close partnership with this former Portuguese colony. This presentation will show that small and weak states as Cabo Verde can still enjoy some agency in their relations with great powers, an agency that allows them to balance their relationships and optimise their interests.