Alaba Ogunsanwo – författare

Originally published in 1974, this is a meticulously researched and incisive examination of a subject which has often been submerged in propaganda. Dr Ogunsanwo traces in great detail the phases and development of Chinese policy in Africa, diplomatic, military, economic, social and cultural relations over the whole of the continent from 1958 to 1971. Placing his subject firmly in the context of the triangular struggle between the United States, the Soviet Union and China, the author examines the place of Africa in Chinese foreign policy as a whole and shows how, from occupying a peripheral status in the mid-fifties, it began to achieve a self-propelling and compulsive momentum. He describes in detail China's strategy and tactics, success and failure in specific African states, the way in which policies were conditioned by international events, interacted with internal African and Chinese events and aspirations and conflicted with United States and Soviet objectives.