ABSTRACT
Starting from the assumption that Beijing’s Africa strategy is clearly driven by a complex economy–security nexus, the chapter discusses the major changes of Chinese-African relations since the early 2010s. China has to deal with the growing complexity of security challenges in the context of its massive economic presence throughout the continent, and the increased vulnerability caused by the emphasis on (trans-) continental connectivity as seen in the Belt and Road Initiative. At the same time, the different manifestations of African Agency in shaping African-Chinese relations have become more evident. The chapter has three main objectives in this regard: It revisits several – so far mostly unconnected - bodies of existing research and their potential contribution to a better understanding of the political implications of these changing China-Africa relationships. It develops a number of guiding questions, which served as a starting point for joint discussions and for writing the chapters, and presents the core arguments of the 13 chapters brought together in the volume.
