Author: Paul Tembe.

The rapid economic development ushered in by the 1978 reform and opening policies in China reached its culmination towards the end of the last decade. The 2008 world recession has also affected the manner in which China is studied by the outside world, especially in relation to its involvement in Africa. This tendency is witnessed in the gradual shift from using economic development as a framework for studying China to a more multi-disciplinary one. Such change is most discernible in the emerging scholarship that studies China-Africa relations. While studies focusing on economic co- operation, direct foreign investments and general trade taking place within the framework of China- Africa relations persist, there is a rapid emergence of scholarship whose focus is on subjects that go beyond economics. These include politics, culture, society and philosophy, covering issues such as the presence of Chinese workers in Africa, the presence of the Chinese military in Africa, forms of Chinese soft power towards Africa and similarities between traditional Chinese and African values. A dominant theme in this field focuses on teasing out what Africa can learn from China and its economic success story. However, a common misconception in this area is that Africa is often portrayed as a singular entity, with a singular historical trajectory.