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Harmony and Discord in China's Africa Strategy: Some Implications for Foreign Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2009

Chris Alden  and
Christopher R. Hughes
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Abstract

This article examines the challenges faced by Beijing in managing this increasingly complex relationship, reflecting upon the structural factors that encourage harmony and introduce discord in China–Africa ties. It examines how various policy solutions being considered by China, ranging from increasing participants in the policy-making process to tentative engagement with international development regimes, may still not address the most difficult issues involving adverse reactions to the Chinese presence from African civil societies and political opposition groups. In particular the lack of a strong civil society inside China inhibits the ability of its policy makers to draw on the expertise of the kind of independent pressure groups and NGOs that are available to traditional donor/investor states. The article concludes by asking how the Chinese system can make up for these weaknesses without moving further towards the existing models and practices of the developed countries.

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Type
Research Article
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The China Quarterly , Volume 199 , September 2009 , pp. 563 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2009

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