"While China has proposed $750 million for agriculture and general development aid and about $50 million to support small- and medium-sized business development in addition to the aforementioned projects, it has been criticized for the extractive nature of its relationship with many African countries, as well as the poor quality of some of its construction work.

However, since many African countries lack the indigenous engineering capability to construct these large-scale projects or the capital to undertake them, African governments with limited resources welcome Chinese investments enthusiastically. These foreign investment projects are also a boon for Beijing, since China needs African resources to sustain its domestic economy, and the projects in Africa provide a destination for excess Chinese labor."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/map-chinese-investments-in-africa-2012-8#ixzz24yepgZW2

That. Is. Incredible.

China and Africa are much more aligned than I realized.

This was my undergrad thesis! YAY for covering it and sharing it!

yay NYT is on the story too...http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/opinion/in-angola-growing-wealth-but-shrinking-democracy.html?hp&

Actually it's not all good:

"The Chinese are not investing to develop the country. They have brought more corruption and, consequently, more poverty. African leaders have a duty to serve and guide their people, and not depend on foreign intervention. Unfortunately, in Angola, the presidential family, government officials and top generals have monopolized the country’s resources for their illicit enrichment while paying Chinese to do shoddy labor."

It's so unclear to me whether China is good for Africa or not.

As it is to me; I think, overall, it's a wash. What African nations need is strong, ethical leadership.

The last statement by David is key. Africa has always had the resources, whether it's diamonds, gold, or raw materials for computers & smart phones there is tremendous value there.

The problem has been the internal struggles/wars, corruption, etc that is holding back the continent. Look at the Congo now, where now we have a new definition of Conflict Minerals.

The money needs to be used to build an infrastructure that is sustainable. Spending on weapons and fighting over everything leaves the collective with nothing. I read about one country in Africa where they hired the men who were pirating the oil to be their security because they couldn't stop them.

When people jump on President Obama's speech about the collective and how the infrastructure we have enables us to achieve individual success, those who don't get it need to look at the countries in Africa and wonder if they would be succesful in that model.

The African nations should look for a partner where the relationships are mutually beneficial and they can grow. Rather than just provide a service or in this case raw materials.

Part of the challenge: seems like each nation negotiates with China individually.

If that's the case, there's not enough pooling of interests.

Hmm. Not quite bold enough to do deals in Pirate land I see... And why does Western Sahara perennially get the shaft?

Pirate land must not have the right risk/reward profile.

As for the Western Sahara, do they have natural resources the Chinese want?