ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Sixteen years ago, Gerald Segal predicted that China, as a rising global power, would be more important to Africa than vice versa - he even surmised that Africa would be the region of least important to China's foreign policy. A look at current Sino-African relations clearly refutes Segal's prophesies. The current relationship between China and Africa is new and dynamic in the sense that it is transforming itself all the time. At the beginning, there were rumours that China was only interested in Africa for the sake of energy security. But now we see that the relationship had been transformed into a longer-term, deeper economic engagement. Africa has also seen the beginning of a security partnership with, for example, Chinese troops in Darfur. At present, however, it is impossible to know what the long-term impact of China's new engagement with Africa will be. Only time will tell when China is indeed a better partner for Africa than the West and if Western concerns are justified. Furthermore, Sino-African cooperation has played a positive and multifaceted role in Africa. However, China's expanded presence in Africa brings new challenges for China's policies on the continent. China's policies will naturally lag behind the rapidly evolving economic, social and security environment in Africa and China will need to adjust accordingly.

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