The walls of Shandong Huawei Security Group’s Beijing office are lined with photographs taken in some of the world’s most unstable regions.

The company’s “wall of fame” tells a modern tale of geopolitics and security: powerful Chinese companies venturing into some of the most hostile parts of the globe are trying to mitigate the risks they face after becoming victims of kidnappings and attacks in places such as Libya and Ghana.

From meetings with local strongmen in Basra, Iraq, to smiling photos of its burly security personnel socialising with Nigerian and Cambodian security forces, much of Shandong Huawei Security Group’s expansion has been in lockstep with the “going global” policy encouraged by Beijing, says Qi Luyan, its founder and chief executive.