ABSTRACT
This chapter examines China-Africa aid, trade and investment relations, and explains that aid, trade and investment between China and Africa have played an important role in Africa's growth and development, highlighting both the benefits and challenges that they create. The modern history of China-Africa relations can be divided into three distinct periods. The first period was very ideological and began a few years after the creation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The second period of Sino-African relations from 1979 to 1999 was more pragmatic and less ideological than the first one. The year 2000 represents a major turning point. It marks the beginning of the third distinct period in China-Africa relations until today and is characterized by increased economic cooperation. A Special Economic Zone is a geographical area within a country where the business and legal regimes are different from the rest of the country.
