China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace

The geopolitical landscape of contemporary China-Africa relations has provoked wide media interest. After being conspicuously overlooked during the G8's purported 'Year of Africa', the topic generated wider debate in the build-up to the China-Africa Summit in Beijing in 2006. Despite this, China's deepening re-engagement with the African continent has been relatively neglected in academic and development policy circles. In particular, the concrete ways in which different Chinese actors are operating in different parts of Africa, their political dynamics and implications for African development as well as Western views of this phenomenon, have yet be explored in depth."China Returns to Africa" responds to this need by addressing the key issues in contemporary China-Africa relations. Taking its cue from the widely touted 'Chinese Scramble for Africa' and the accompanying claim of a 'new Chinese imperialism', the book moves beyond narrow media-driven concerns to offer one of the first far-ranging surveys of China's return to Africa, examining what this new relationship holds for diplomacy, trade and development.

Table of Contents:
The geopolitical landscape of contemporary China-Africa relations has provoked wide media interest. After being conspicuously overlooked during the G8's purported 'Year of Africa', the topic generated wider debate in the build-up to the China-Africa Summit in Beijing in 2006. Despite this, China's deepening re-engagement with the African continent has been relatively neglected in academic and development policy circles. In particular, the concrete ways in which different Chinese actors are operating in different parts of Africa, their political dynamics and implications for African development as well as Western views of this phenomenon, have yet be explored in depth. "China Returns to Africa" responds to this need by addressing the key issues in contemporary China-Africa relations.Taking its cue from the widely touted 'Chinese Scramble for Africa' and the accompanying claim of a 'new Chinese imperialism', the book moves beyond narrow media-driven concerns to offer one of the first far-ranging surveys of China's return to Africa, examining what this new relationship holds for diplomacy, trade and development.

About the Author :
Chris Alden is Senior Lecturer in International Relations atthe LSE, Ricardo Soares de Oliveirais Lecturer in Politics at Oxford University and Daniel Large is aresearcher at SOAS.

Review :
'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.' '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.' 'This lively, timely and authoritative book is vital to understanding China's expanding role in the economic and political life of Africa.' '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 crosscurrents of the relationship.' '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.' '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.' 'This is an original, timely, and balanced interdisciplinary collection which arguably marks the start of a second wave of studies of China and Africa.' '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.' 'The book presents an excellent overview of the Africa-China work, deepens some core aspects, and sharpens conclusions on policy and research.' '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.'