Understanding Sino-African Relations: Neocolonialism or a New Era?

What motivates increased relations between China and African countries? While Chinese interests in natural resources throughout Africa is well known, less attention is given to whether these interests are short-term or long-term in nature. We challenge the assumption of Chinese neocolonialism without portraying growing relations as void of problems for African development. Instead of viewing these relations from one of two polarized positions, we suggest that reality is somewhere in the middle, with the potential for deeper mutually beneficial relationships coexisting with some level of exploitation.