China Returns to Africa

Chinese-African relations became an issue of increasing importance leading up to the 2006 China-Africa Summit in Beijing. Nevertheless, academics and policymakers have largely neglected China’s expanding relationship with Africa. Scholars have yet to explore the concrete ways in which Chinese actors operate in different parts of Africa, and developmental policy advisors have yet to take the political dynamics and implications of this involvement into consideration when forming policy.

China Returns to Africa addresses key issues in contemporary Chinese-African relations, examining the impact of this relationship in issues of diplomacy, trade, and development. Beginning with the assertion that China is engaged in a ​“scramble for Africa” and that we are now on the brink of a ​“new Chinese imperialism,” the essays in this volume transcend narrow, media-driven concerns and offer one of the first far-ranging surveys of the consequences of China’s investment in Africa.

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Reviews

Anybody interested in the continent, and in the rise of Chinese power, needs to know what is going on. The editors of this hefty volume have assembled essays by 24 academics of a dozen nationalities, who possess exceptional knowledge of China’s operations in Africa. Successive chapters address such diverse subjects as the social influence of the 750,000-strong Chinese diaspora in the continent; Chinese medicine; the history of the disastrous Tanzanian railway; and, most important, the progress of Beijing’s drive to buy into oil and mineral resources the length and breadth of the continent. [The book] presents an impressive and balanced study of one of the most important developments in the modern world.

Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

China’s resurgence [in Africa] has to rate as one of the most striking developments of the early twenty-first century- this thorough and balanced study provides the right equipment with which to assess it.

Philip Snow, author of The Star Raft: China’s encounter with Africa

This lively, timely and authoritative book is vital to understanding China’s expanding role in the economic and political life of Africa.

John Ryle, Rift Valley Institute and Bard College, NY

This collection [provides] a much needed antidote to the hysteria that grips a great deal of recent writing about China re-engagement with the continent […] the breadth of subject matter is matched by the wide array of writers […] This volume offers an atlas to those steering through the cross-currents of the relationship.

The Africa Report

Perceptive and useful […] After furnishing valuable details on China’s national economic interests and motivations in Africa, and examining its own non-interference (or ​‘no ties’) policy with respect to economic assistance, the book’s focus widens to geopolitics, building a layered picture of China’s designs in Africa. [The book] provides ample analysis for readers to derive their own informed conclusions.

Survival

China’s growing presence in Africa and African affairs is a much touted yet underexamined phenomenon. China Returns to Africa helps fill that gap. The editors have marshalled two dozen notable academic and policy experts to assess Chinese expansion on the continent, implications for African development, and Western perceptions. The result is 21 essays that provide an azimuth of understanding for the casual and expert observer alike […] The book does an estimable job of addressing polemic issues in an even-handed and lucid manner. […] a thoughtful book.

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

This is an original, timely, and balanced interdisciplinary collection which arguably marks the start of a second wave of studies of China and Africa.

The Round Table

A comprehensive overview of the topic. [The] chapters contained in this volume are illuminating, well-written, and provide great insight into the nature, scope, and implications of China’s engagement with Africa […] an insightful collection [and] a highly recommended read, both for scholars looking for a comprehensive introduction to the China-Africa topic and for experts in search of in-depth perspectives and analysis.

African Affairs

The book presents an excellent overview of the Africa-China work, deepens some core aspects, and sharpens conclusions on policy and research.

Journal of African History

Although ambitious in terms of the range of material it covers, the volume succeeds in reconciling its parts into a coherent whole. It is a thoughtful attempt not only to deepen the current analyses [but also] to apply a more solid theoretical grounding to subject matter that has in the past largely been treated as exploratory research. This is an excellent read for scholars seeking a more nuanced set of perspectives regarding the nature of China-Africa relations.

Journal of Contemporary African Affairs