"The 2018 National Defense Strategy stresses that one of the principal priorities for the Department of Defense is long-term strategic competition with China, in part because China is undermining the international order, “wants to shape a world consistent with its authoritarian model,” and continues pursuing military modernization. Beijing’s influences are gradually extending farther away from its borders and may increasingly threaten the geographic security the U.S. has enjoyed for many years. The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) government makes it a point to work through the ethnic Chinese living or working overseas – a fact that both President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) emphasized towards leveraging Chinese migrants to improve China’s position on the international stage. This paper examines China’s efforts in leveraging social capital, mainly through Chinese immigrants and diasporas in Africa, to expand the PRC’s power throughout the African continent. As Africa is known as China’s second continent, the PRC is investing heavily with African nations to benefit from Africa’s vast natural resources required to sustain its billion-plus population in mainland China. The Chinese diasporas and the growing number of ethnic Chinese serve a supporting role in shaping relationships with African governments, businesses, educators, and the perception of their people. Although the level of influence that Chinese populations exhibit in foreign lands does not generate the same publicity and acknowledgement of the PRC’s power, such as its economic and diplomatic powers, the Chinese living overseas do impact Beijing’s foreign policy and should not be ignored."--Abstract.