China in Sub-Saharan Africa Since 2000

China is a ‘developmental state’ and its political role on the world stage has been evolving since 2000. Chinese leaders are driven by the desire to play a prominent role in contemporary world politics as well as ensuring China’s resource security (Taylor, 2009). The Chinese want to consolidate their global presence and regain their position as a great nation. China continues to see itself as the leader of the developing world, and its relationship to Africa has been part of its commitment to South–South (developing country to developing country) co-operation (Brautigam, 2011). It also wants to position itself as an option to the United States (Taylor, 2009). China’s international operations can be better understood if the Chinese state is seen not as a consistent and unified whole but as a system of ‘fragmented authoritarianism’ (Lampton, 1987, cited in Taylor, 2009). There are many dimensions to China’s foreign policy, and sometimes, those policies appear contradictory. Within China is a complex mix of political and economic interests that include central government, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), local officials representing provincial bureaucracies and private corporations. These various interest groups, with their different agendas, are all represented in the nation’s international activities. According to Taylor (2009), SOEs in the key sectors remain in government hands and dominate resource procurement and construction in SSA, but the much more numerous provincial SOEs make up 90% of Chinese companies operating overseas. The key priority for SOEs at regional levels is to fill their mandate to make a profit (Taylor, 2009). The competing political interests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the trade interests of the Ministry of Commerce are another dimension of China’s overseas engagement (Sun, 2014a). All the while, private companies have continued to expand into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)…