Africa's engagement with China: Perpetuating the Class Project

In Chapter 9, Sanusha Naidu and Johanna Jansson study the impact of an emerging power, China, on the unevenly developed societies of Africa. They pose the key question of whether China’s impact is mainly extractive or developmental. Critics view China’s engagement as a terrifying threat while for optimists it is a tantalizing opportunity. The findings of this study are partly encouraging. China’s role gives Africa more leverage in its relations with the global North, it compels African governments to reflect on and adapt initiatives that address the challenges of globalization and compels them to adopt nuanced understandings of the varied impacts that China can have on Africa’s development path.