Author: Garth Le Pere, Garth Shelton.

China's growing engagement with Africa has major implications for both sides, and has added an important strategic context to South-South co-operation. In this volume, two leading South African scholars examine this dynamic which takes on added meaning because of the new Sino-South African axis. They point out that China-Africa relations have a long historical pedigree, and that even the vagaries of the Cold War did not suppress continued Chinese support for African struggles for independence and self-determination. In the current setting, an emerging discourse warns that China's engagement with Africa is driven by its need for raw materials, which could presage a new 'resource imperialism'. However, the authors argue that this view ignores the firm normative framework underpinning China's relationship with Africa, and conclude that, provided this relationship is properly managed, it will greatly benefit both parties as well as other developing countries of the global South. It is hoped this volume will help policy-makers, planners, and analysts to gain a better understanding of this important new dimension in international relations.