Title

Accumulation with or without dispossession? A 'both/and' approach to China in Africa with reference to Angola

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2013

Publication Title

Review of African Political Economy

Volume

40

Issue

136

First Page

233

Keywords

accumulation, Angola, China, new imperialism, oil

Last Page

250

Abstract

In the burgeoning field of research on China in Africa, analyses generally fall on a continuum between two divergent positions. With reference to Angola, this paper reviews perspectives on China in Africa as well as the main features of Chinese engagement with the continent in order to interrogate the 'divide' between the 'China threat' and 'peaceful rise' positions. The goal is not to take a centrist position, but rather to suggest that China represents for Africa both a new imperialism and a new model of development. While differentiating between the new Euro-American and Chinese imperialisms, China's new engagement, exemplified by its relationship with Angola, is a project of recolonisation and appropriation of economic surplus. The Chinese variety of imperialism, however, offers African states a compromise to their elite and to their citizens that has heretofore been missing from post-colonial Euro-American imperialism - the prospect of sustained economic growth and improvement to the quality of everyday life. © 2013 Copyright ROAPE Publications Ltd.

DOI

10.1080/03056244.2013.794724

ISSN

03056244

E-ISSN

17401720

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