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Cheru, Fantu and Cyril Obi (eds.), The Rise of China & India in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Critical Interventions, London and New York: Zed Books, 2010, pp. xii+276.
Interaction between Africa and Asia has been on upward swing for last couple of decades. However, business between these two continents is not new and both continents have had long political and economic relations dating back to several decades. Nevertheless, the scale and pace of trade and investment flows between Africa and India and China are flourishing in recent times, partly because of accelerating commerce between developing countries throughout the world. At the same time, African countries are not simple spectators to the economic rise of China and India; rather they are party to the growth story of these countries. In this context, work on The Rise of China & India in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Critical Interventions by Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi provides timely analysis of different aspects of engagement by China and India in Africa. In its different sections, this book demonstrates how the growing economic power of China and India is influencing the growth patterns of African countries, particularly oil and commoditiesexporting countries, and also the consequences of such influence.
Introducing the context, Cheru and Obi discussed the strategic and developmental challenges for Africa in the twenty-first century and opined that the present moment in international affairs offers an opportunity for Africa to change the continent's marginal place in global political and economic scenario and to shift from a post-cold war US-led unipolar to a multipolar global order. In this emerging order, powers of global South like China and India have become Africa's most important economic partners and their growing footprint on the continent is transforming Africa's international relations in a dynamic way. Besides China and India, other emerging economies, such as Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam have also become increasingly active in many African countries, a clear indication that North-South relations are being superseded by the South-East and emerging Africa-Gulf-Asia triangular relations, with profound implications for Africa's development.
To restate, Africa's strategic options and developmental challenges are redefined by the complex transformations in twenty-first century international relations. Under this background, first part of the volume: The Big Picture: China and India...