China And Sub-Saharan Africa In The Context Of China's Rise: A Win-Win Relationship?

China's relationship with Africa is not a new variable in international relations. Relations between China and individual African states have existed for decades and have preceded the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Yet, relationship between the two sides has been victim of neglect and lack of attention on the part of experts on international relations. It is only recently, that experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines, including international relations, economics, history, and political science are paying critical attention to Sino-African relations. Partly, this is due to China's rise and its new strategy in engaging the African continent. Both China's rise to great power status and its new strategy to the continent have registered different interpretations from a wide range of scholars and policy makers. The interpretations have created an intense debate that is about to invalidate the international marginalization of Africa. The present thesis contributes to the debate.On the debate, the concept of China's rise is far from reaching the status of conventional wisdom. The least one can say is that the concept has divided analysts into two camps. Some optimistic analysts see China's rise as a benign and peaceful transformation. Other pessimistic analysts develop the theory of China's threat to interpret China's remarkable and multi-dimensional ascendancy. Likewise, China's engagement in Africa is the origin of an ongoing and contradictory debate. To many observers, China's relationship with Africa is an opportunities for the development of the continent. Others, in particular Westerners see China's presence in the Africa as a problem, a challenge to principles like Human Rights, good governance, democracy, and environmental protection. As a contribution to the debate, this thesis assesses China's relationship with Africa by focusing on the specific region of Sub-Saharan Africa and by emphasizing a particular context, China's rise. After defining the region of Sub-Saharan Africa and the concept of China's rise, the research examines the different aspects of Sino-Sub-Saharan African relations through an historical account to the present day.The research is based on an analysis of relevant international relations theories and on a description of available facts and direct observations in relation to Sino-Sub-Saharan African interactions, focusing not only on the economic aspect, but also on the political and cultural aspects of the relationship.As a result, the research highlights the complexity of Sino-Sub-Saharan African relations in the context of China's rise, the range of opportunities and challenges and the inevitable implications for great powers like the US, France, Britain, and Japan.In light of all the considerations above, the research concludes that Sino-Sub-Saharan African relationship in the context of China's rise corresponds to a win-win situation, even if the two sides have not won equally. In a final analysis, the research points out that the African side would make a better deal in its relationship with a rising China, by learning from its past experience with the former colonial powers, by finding other ways to do business with China rather than just relying on massive exports of raw material. Instead, the research suggests that the African side should put in place a competitive administrative system, capable of attracting foreign investment and based on the rule of law, good management, and anti-corruption. In addition to that, it is pointed out that Sub-Saharan African countries should create a common strategy towards China as China has its own strategy to them. Only then, a fifty-fifty win-win situation can be achieved.