* U.S. intelligence officials believe that China is in talks with Equatorial Guinea to build a military port in the city of Bata
* China currently has only one overseas military base - in Djibouti, on the Eastern coast of Africa - which opened in 2017
* The prospect of Beijing adding a second base, and one that faces the Atlantic and the United States, has deeply troubled Washington
* Joe Biden sent deputy National Security Advisor, Jonathan Finer, to Equatorial Guinea in October to try and convince the president to turn China down
* President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 79, and his son and heir apparent Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, 53, are courting both the U.S. and China
* China helps train and arm the country's police, but Equatorial Guinea relies on U.S. technology to access its significant oil reserves
China is attempting to woo Equatorial Guinea into allowing them to build a military base off their coast, according to a report - a move which would give Beijing a foothold in the Atlantic, and deeply worry Washington.
U.S. intelligence officials believe that Xi Jinping, China's president, is hoping to convince the president of the West African nation, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to allow expansion of an existing port in the city of Bata, and conversion into a military base.
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Update #1: China eyes military base on Africa's Atlantic coast: report (The Hill)
Update #2: China may be eyeing its first military base on the Atlantic Ocean: report (FOX News)
WNU Editor: China is denying these reports .... WSJ report on China’s military base on Africa’s Atlantic coast ‘not true,’ says Chinese military expert (Global Times).