Author: Peter J Croll, Andreas Lebzien, Wolf-Christian Paes.

BICC F OCUS C hina’s infl uence on the African continent has grown signifi cantly in the past decade. More than 40 African heads of states attended the last China-Africa summit in Beijing in November 2006, a signifi cantly larger attendance than similar meetings between African leaders and the European Union. The Beijing summit—which celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Asian superpower and African nations—was also a symbol for a geostrategic shift, which is currently taking place on the continent. Numerous African nations, including a number of favorite ‘donor-darlings’ such as South Africa and Ghana, are in the process of diversifying their political and trade relations away from the traditional North-South axis and towards new South-South relationships with emerging Asian economies such as India, Malaysia and China. This process is driven largely by Chinese investment in Africa, estimated at some US $50 billion in 2006 (Fues et al, 2006, p. 1), and also by the promise of signifi cant Chinese loans and other forms of development assistance. Imports of crude oil and other petroleum products account for the lion’s share of Sino-African trade relations, while Chinese companies are exporting consumer goods, such as household items, electronic products and clothing.