ABSTRACT
While China has massively stepped up its engagements with Africa over the past decade, historical evidence shows that China–Africa relations existed as early as 2000 years ago (Gao 1984), with the most important period of Sino-African relations coming during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Famously, from 1405 to 1433, the Admiral Zheng He visited East Africa for two or three of his voyages (Snow 1988). Since the founding of the PRC (1949), China–Africa relations have gone through fluctuating periods, influenced by domestic and international events.
