The China-led peace conference for the Horn of Africa was both a big step for China and a bit of a damp squib. The conference, which concluded on Tuesday, was China’s most prominent attempt at promoting its version of developmental peace in Africa since its mediation efforts in South Sudan in the mid-2010s. 

The meeting was explicitly framed as setting the scene for conflict resolution efforts. Xue Bing, the PRC’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, told attendees: “I myself am ready to provide mediation efforts for the peaceful settlement of disputes based on the will of countries in this region.”