ABSTRACT
There are a growing number of texts on China-Africa relations but very few aim to make a new conceptual or theoretical contribution to the subject. This chapter develops the concept of ‘development relations’ that is partly based on the actual evidence from the Africa-China relationship and how it may ideally and potentially evolve in the future. Such a conceptualisation of ‘development relations’ has applicability to other key emerging interdeveloping country relationships, and hence points to new possible paradigms of economic diplomacy that differ from those driven by developed countries. For example, whereas developed country powers have tended to conceive of their relations with Africa in distinct donor-recipient terms, China – as a strong and well-resourced developing country power – has related to Africa more in terms of ‘development partnership’. As is argued below, this approach is essential to fostering development relations, where ideally partners work to mutually enhance various forms of development capacity. The extent to which an equal or balanced partnership can be achieved between China and Africa in both current and foreseeable conditions is a moot point, as discussed in this chapter.
