China's engagement with Africa has had a transformative effect on the continent's relations with the outside world, shaking up an old and fraying order dominated by cautious foreign donors and former colonial powers, writes William Wallis.
Trade between Africa and China rose tenfold, from $10bn (€8bn, £6.9bn) to $108bn, between 2000 and 2008, dipping back last year during the global recession. Chinese direct investment is also steadily up, although inflows still trail those from the US and Europe. Thanks to Asian demand, world prices for African commodities have risen strongly over the decade. The price of African imports, increasingly sourced from Asia, have also decreased.
Heading into a decade in which investment in infrastructure will be a priority for most African governments and their development partners, Chinese construction companies now have a leading market share. A series of multibillion-dollar minerals-for-infrastructure deals are seeing them build dams, roads, power plants, refineries and railways across the continent.