China in Africa

Sabella O. Abidde is professor of political science at Alabama State University. Tokunbo A. Ayoola is reader and chair in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies at Anchor University.

Zhou Enlai's 1963–64 visits to 10 African states initiated closer ties between the PRC and Africa for the first time. Since then, China has become "the most dominant foreign power on the continent." But is the relationship mutually beneficial? Fifteen authors tackle this complex question, many of them focusing on barter arrangements, exchange of natural resources for low-interest loans, and infrastructure development. China in Africa is organized in three parts. Part 1 ("Early Contacts and Connections") reviews China-Egypt links, Chinese perspectives on Sino-African relations, the TAZARA Railway, systems of alliance, and development brought via the Belt and Road Initiative. The five chapters in part 2 ask whether a new imperialism or a new world order is emerging. Is China leading a wave of conquest and plunder, adopting a hands-off approach, or using multiple forms of soft power to gain influence? Part 3 examines China's regional footprints. Case studies include anti-Chinese sentiments in news coverage, China's development projects in Zimbabwe, its geographic impact on the continent, African perceptions of China and the Chinese, and "chopsticks mercantilism." The coeditors conclude that African leaders made their own continent "fragile" and hence open to—yet also requiring—development aid from China. This collection presents varied views of complex phenomena, reaching varied, interesting assessments. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers.

• Part I: Early Contacts and Connections Chapter 1: Premier Zhou Enlai’s Excursions to Africa Chapter 2: The Policy Framework of Sino-African Relations from the Chinese Perspective: A Review of Selected policy papers and agreements Chapter 3: Jamie Monson and the Historiography of China-Africa Relations: Focus on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Chapter 4: Alliance Systems Redefined: Towards an Explanation of China’s Hands-Off Approach to African Politics Chapter 5: The Belt and Road Initiative in Africa: But What Kind of Developmental Power Does China Have? Part II: New-Imperialism or a New World Order Chapter 6: China in Africa: The Fifth Wave of Conquest and Plunder? Chapter 7: Changing Africa-China Relations: Colonialism or Partnership? Chapter 8: Chinese and African Economic Relations: A New World Order or A New Form of Colonialism? Chapter 9: China’s Cultural Rapprochement: The Uses of Soft Power as a Form of Building Alliances in Africa Chapter 10: Politics and Governance