Book Review: David Shinn and Joshua Eisenman. 2012. China and Africa: A Century of Engagement
| Date | 01 August 2014 |
| Published date | 01 August 2014 |
| Author | Benjamin Alexander Hale |
| DOI | 10.1177/2347797014541728 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book Reviews 231
Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 1, 2 (2014): 223–233
David Shinn and Joshua Eisenman. 2012. China and Africa: A Century
of Engagement. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 544 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-8122-4419-9 (HB), Price: US$ 69.95
DOI: 10.1177/2347797014541728
China and Africa: A Century of Engagement by David Shinn and Joshua Eisenman
is a highly ambitious book which seeks to explore the entirety of Sino-African
relations over the last century, with a focus on the post-1949 period. The authors
not only provide an in-depth analysis of China’s relations with each of the
54 African countries but also situate these relations within a broad historical con-
text, tracing continuities and changes in Sino-African relations over the previous
century and beyond. Furthermore, Shinn and Eisenman provide a historically
informed analysis of the various key areas which frame China’s engagement with
African countries (namely politics, trade, investment, foreign aid, military, secu-
rity, media and culture). However, the authors’ broad treatment of the subject
matter coupled with detailed analyses of each individual African country has
resulted in a text which owes much to the work of previous Sino-African authors
such as George T. Yu, Bruce Larkin, and Alaba Ogunsanwo. Thus, although the
volume provides an informed and comprehensive analysis of China’s engagement
with Africa since 1911, it fails to break new ground, focusing instead on summa-
rizing previous analyses.
China’s massive diplomatic and commercial re-engagement with the African
continent since the 1990s, along with the exponential growth in Sino-African trade
during this period, has transformed China into one of the most influential and
controversial actors on the African continent. Although the authors are quick to
stress the scarcity of recent academic literature on ‘Beijing’s interests in and poli-
cies towards Africa’ (p. 9) this book is representative of a resurgence of literature
devoted to examining exactly that (including texts such as Chris Alden, Daniel
Large and Soares de Oliviera’s China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a
Continent Embrace (2008), Sarah Raine’s China’s African Challenges (2009), and
Chris Alden’s China in Africa (2007)). However, in line with the authors’ aspira-
tions this text does indeed provide the first full-length account of Sino-African
relations since Bruce Larkin’s China in Africa 1949–1970 (1973), providing a
comprehensive overview of China’s relations with each African country.
Despite the size and scope of this volume it is readily accessible, with the nine
‘key themes and historical trends in China’s relations with African countries’ elu-
cidated in the introduction providing the crux of the authors’ arguments concern-
ing China’s interests in and policies towards Africa. Furthermore, this accessibility
is enhanced by the organization of book chapters into the study of bilateral rela-
tions between China and African countries in specific regions of Africa and key
issue areas, such as political, trade, investment and foreign assistance, military and
media and social relations. In addition, the authors also engage with the various
debates surrounding China’s growing engagement with Africa, classifying key
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