China in Africa: (African Arguments)

Nowhere in the world is China's rapid rise to power more evident than in Africa. From multi-billion dollar investments in oil and minerals to the influx of thousands of merchants, labourers and cheap consumer goods, China's economic and political reach is redefining Africa's traditional ties with the international community. This book investigates the emerging relationship between China and Africa to determine whether this engagement will be that of a development partner, economic competitor or new hegemon. Alden argues that in order to understand Chinese involvement on the continent, we need to recognize the range of economic, diplomatic and security rationales behind Beijing's Africa policy as well as the response of African elites to China's entreaties. Only then can the new challenges and opportunities for Africa and the West be accurately assessed.

Table of Contents:
1. China's New Foreign Policy Towards Africa 2. The Chinese in Africa: Capitalist, Comrades and Carpetbaggers 3. Africa Turns East 4. The Chinese Challenge: African Hopes and Western Interests 5. Consolidating China Africa Relations

About the Author :
Chris Alden is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the LSE. He has researched and published on Asian-African relations for over fifteen years. He has previously taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, and held research fellowships at the University of Tokyo, the Ecole Normale Superieure and the University of Cambridge. Chris Alden is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the LSE. He has researched and published on Asian-African relations for over fifteen years. He has previously taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, and held research fellowships at the University of Tokyo, the Ecole Normale Superieure and the University of Cambridge.

Review :
Alden's book answers the need for a measured review of China-Africa relations. Alden combines judicious analysis with a balanced, authoritative survey of the context and nature of current relations A useful analysis of China's increasing economic role in Africa. Chris Alden has written the first substantive book on China-Africa relations in three decades. Anyone wishing to understand the complexities of China's engagement with Africa must read this fine study. In this elegant and engaging study, Chris Alden brings together the key pieces that define the complex mosaic of China's recent engagement in Africa. Analytically sophisticated and drawing on an impressive vein of evidence, this book must be welcomed both as an illuminating account and for its measured judgment. The companion volume to Zed's "The United States in Africa". For me, the best and most coherent approach to the political economy of China in Africa is given by Chris Alden in his short engagingly written book.... In the welter of badly-thought and badly-written work now being rushed into print on China in Africa, Chris Alden's book is an excellently-balanced and judicious exception. In this short and readable book, Chris Alden provides a clear overview of China's involvement with Africa. It is a fascinating story, which will become more interesting and more important in the years to come.