China’s Engagements in Africa: Is China a “Partner” or a “Predator”?

From modest beginnings in 1960, China has expanded its foreign assistance and investments in Africa and has recently become a highly visible actor in Africa’s lending landscape. With China’s financial support, African countries are transitioning from “poor countries” to “developing countries”, and China’s investments in Africa have made the continent more attractive to other external investors. However, China’s engagements in Africa are labeled in extreme connotations as either being the best economic “Partner” that Africa has had since the post-colonial era or just the latest “Predator” coming to pillage Africa’s remaining natural resources. Why such connotations? Why do media around the world, especially Western media, criticize China’s engagements in Africa? Is it because China has threatened Western countries’ interests in Africa or is it about the overhyped debate about African countries’ high “external debt” problem? Using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper examines those critics who argue that recognizing China’s engagements in Africa is the first step toward understanding China’s “peaceful rise” and hopefully stymie further false accusations.