Many commentators have tended to explain Chinese interest in the African continent in terms of economic and especially energy imperatives. The political advantages of this strategic partnership for both the People’s Republic of China and the nations of Africa are, however, irrefutable. China is expanding its international presence, and its African partners will benefit from the support of a power that does not overburden itself with demanding political conditions. This political dimension is founded on both a long-standing relationship and on shared contemporary preoccupations. As China’s ‘new’ African policy is a natural continuation of its traditional diplomatic initiatives, it is useful to recall its political and historic precursors before analysing its foundations.

Historic and Political Precursors of Chinese Strategy in Africa

There is no need to go back as far as the Han dynasty and the first Chinese navigators to realise that the China-Africa strategic partnership has an economic justification, the subject of many analyses, and that it is also based on a longstanding political relationship.

A Longstanding Political Relationship

The political rapport between China and Africa dates back to the Bandung conference (1955), followed by that held in Belgrade (1961), which attempted to establish long-term relations between the ex-colonial countries of the south. It played its part in the non-aligned movement that emerged from the shadows of the confrontation between the two blocs of the Cold War. Bringing together those nations that had suffered under the colonial yoke or a long period of foreign occupation (China), this relationship was established all the more easily as it was based on a community of thought marked by a rejection of the logic of East-West confrontation.