China Returns to Africa

A rising power and a continent embrace - by Chris Alden, Daniel Large and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira (Eds)

Published 2008 by Hurst Publishers Ltd, London pp 382 ISBN 978-1-85065-885-6

China's expanding relations with African states is arguably the most important dynamic shaping the politics and foreign relations of the continent in the twenty-first century. Although the nature and implications of China's renewed engagment are only just beginning to be appreciated, this process is both profoundly significant for Africa and offers a striking regional dimension of China's rising importance in world affairs. China Returns to Africa presents the first in-depth, far-ranging survey of China-Africa relations.

Contributions by an international team of experts in African and Chinese affairs provide an analytically rich, empirically grounded assessment of the changing nature of trade, politics and society in the wake of China's growing prominence in Africa. Analysis of key economic and political trends is augmented by Chinese, African, European and American perspectives and anchored in detailed case-studies. The book concludes by considering what the implications of China's engagement holds for the future of the African continent.