Working Paper 124 - Post-Crisis Prospects for China-Africa Relations

Abstract

China’s rapid growth has transformed its relationship with Africa. Industrialization has boosted China’s import demand for oil and minerals (e.g. iron ore, bauxite, nickel, copper), which Africa can satisfy. China is now Africa’s third largest trading partner and the Chinese governments going global strategy encouraged Chinese companies to become multinationals. The China-Africa relationship could be described as “commodities-for-infrastructure”, although a shift to broader cooperation on development is now evident. This paper discusses how China’s relationship with Africa is contributing to its overall development and emphasizes the central role of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The principal conclusion is that while China is likely to remain engaged with Africa in the medium term, to reap the full benefits, African countries need to transform this engagement into additional development opportunities.