China's diplomacy toward Africa: drivers and constraints

Abstract

The increasingly multi-faceted engagement of China in Africa is part of China’s growing global reach. Chinese diplomats strive to promote an image of a peacefully rising power, whereas Chinese businessmen seek natural resources and export markets. As a result, those responsible for Chinese foreign policy strategic thinking struggle to accommodate the needs of this diverse group of actors in Africa, well aware that as a major power, Beijing is expected to address international crisis. In Washington and Brussels, China is criticized for its support of despotic African regimes and its aid programs ‘with no strings attached’. In Sudan, in particular, China’s credibility as a responsible nation is questioned. This article provides a concise overview of China’s evolving diplomacy toward Africa, highlighting the Sino-Sudan relationship, with the aim of shedding light on the drivers and constraints on Beijing’s motives and actions on the African continent. The article 1 This article is an abbreviated and edited version of a paper the author presented at the International Studies Association Convention in San Francisco 26 March 2008. Received 21 October 2008; Accepted 23 June 2009 International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Vol. 9 No. 3 # The author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the Japan Association of International Relations; all rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Volume 9 (2009) 403–433 doi:10.1093/irap/lcp008 Advance Access published on 27 July 2009 by R oert S edgw ck on Jne 8, 2010 http://iraordjournals.org D ow nladed fom assesses some of the implications of Beijing’s policy choices in Africa for its international relations.