SINO-AFRICAN COOPERATION AND THE CHALLENGES OF ENDOGENOUS DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Abstract

Sino-African cooperation has been highly debated, with some viewing China's involvement as exploitation and others as a solution to Africa's underdevelopment. However, this article argues that both perspectives lack a nuanced understanding of Sino-African cooperation's historical and geopolitical context. The West's skepticism about China's intentions in Africa is often based on fear of a new global order, while some African elites' portrayal of China as a messiah ignores the complex relationship. Sino-African cooperation is neither benevolent nor exploitative, but driven by pragmatic economic, political, and strategic interests. It's concluded that Sino-African cooperation is neither benevolent nor exploitative but rather a pragmatic and motivated by economic, political, and strategic interests. It resulted from a changing global order in which new actors such as China seek to assert their influence and shape the contours of global governance.