Hidden Dragon, Crouching Lion: How China's Advance in Africa Is Underestimated and Africa's Potential Underappreciated

The explosive growth of China¿s economic interests in Africa¿bilateral trade rocketed from $1 billion in 1990 to $150 billion in 2011¿may be the most important trend in the continent¿s foreign relations since the end of the Cold War. China surpassed the United States in 2010 as Africa¿s top trading partner; its quest to build a strategic partnership with Africa on its own terms through tied aid, trade, and development finance is also part of Beijing¿s broader aspirations to surpass the United States as the world¿s preeminent superpower. Africa has become an attractive partner for China and other emerging economies not only for its natural resources, but as a growing market. Africa¿s rapid growth since 2000 has not just occurred because of higher commodity prices, but more importantly due to other factors including improved governance, economic reforms, and an expanding labor force. China¿s rapid and successful expansion in Africa is due to multiple factors including economic diplomacy that is clearly superior to that of the United States. China¿s ¿no strings attached¿ approach to development, however, risks undoing decades of Western efforts to promote good governance. China¿s oil diplomacy, equity investments in strategic minerals, and food policy toward Africa are examined. The official U.S. rhetoric is that China¿s rise in Africa should not be seen as a zero-sum game, but areas for real U.S.-China cooperation to help Africa will remain elusive, mainly because of Beijing¿s hyper-mistrust of Washington. The United States could help itself and Africa by improving its own economic diplomacy and adequately funding its own soft power efforts.