Rethinking how we look at Africa's relationship with China

By Christopher J. Lee, Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies, Lafayette College

The topic of China-Africa relations presents an opportunity to rethink the territorial parameters of African studies. In particular, it can help shift attention away from the Atlantic world as the dominant focal point of connections between Africa and the wider world.

The problem is that current scholarship and public opinion have often drifted into old frameworks and colonial motifs.

To take one example, China’s ambitions have frequently been construed as part of a new ‘Scramble for Africa’ with African countries falling victim once more to an outside global power. Another…

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