Author: Judith van de Looy.

Increasing numbers of Chinese companies are developing connections in Africa with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This relationship between China and Africa has not happened unnoticed but the discussion in the West is not well informed. Questions about how to deal with this development and its consequences are being raised. This paper is a first attempt to fill this lacuna and presents an overview of Sino- African relations, China’s aid programme to Africa and the state of trade relations, with special emphasis on natural resources and the export market for Chinese products and investments in Africa.