Sino-African relations
Sino-African relations are a vibrant, two-way dynamic in which both sides adjust to policy initiatives and popular perceptions emanating from the other. RAND researchers have assessed Chinese and African goals, African perceptions of China, how China has adjusted its policies to address local reactions, whether the United States and China hj compete in the region, and how Washington and Beijing might actually cooperate to their mutual benefit.
China’s role in Africa defies conventional stereotypes and punchy news headlines. China is both a long-established diplomatic partner and a new investor in Africa. Chinese interests on the continent encompass not only natural resources but also issues of trade, security, diplomacy, and soft power. China is a major aid donor, but the scope, scale, and mode of Chinese aid practices are poorly understood and often misquoted in the press.
Most analyses of Chinese engagement with African nations focus on what China gets out of these partnerships — primarily natural resources and export markets. Some studies have described the impacts, positive and negative, that China’s aid and investment policies have had on African countries. However, few analyses have approached Sino-African relations as a vibrant, two-way dynamic in which both sides adjust to policy initiatives and popular perceptions emanating from the other.
In an effort to characterize the dynamic nature of Chinese-African relations, RAND researchers took a comprehensive look at Chinese and African objectives in the political and economic spheres and the means by which they work to achieve their goals. They examined the reactions of African governments and populations to Chinese engagement and assessed the ways in which China adjusted its policies to accommodate these often-hostile responses. RAND also considered whether the United States and China are competing for influence, access, and resources in Africa and whether there might be opportunities for the two powers to cooperate in ways that advance their mutual interests, as well as those of their African partners.