ABSTRACT
The current international development landscape is being shaped by the emerging powers such as the Peolple’s Republic of China and other BRICS nations in their unprecedented engagements with Africa’s economy and society. China, as the world second-largest economy, has received both compliments and criticisms for its approach to development assistance in Africa. Its involvement in the region has repercussions for the local economy, natural resources utilisation and livelihoods of the poor (Tull 2006; Zafar 2007; Moyo 2009; Tan-Mullins et al. 2010). In addition to impacts, the interplay of the Chinese engagement and African political economy seems elusive and thus complicates different stakeholders’ interpretations of their location in the broader system of economic and political relations.
