China is eyeing superpower status via Africa and the Caribbean. But are they partners or pawns?

"It's always odd to me to read about China as rising on the global stage. It seems a particularly western-centric view of a country that, as far as many Africans are concerned, had risen a long time ago. China's cultural outreach was a feature of life in 1980s Sudan, where Chinese entertainment was broadcast on the only national TV channel. (I have a childhood recollection of a mesmeric dragon dance that never lost its dazzle, even though it was rebroadcast for years.)"

"Its design was led by the then Shanghai Institute of Civic Architecture and it was built with the help of hundreds of Chinese workers. In hindsight, much of this outreach was political strategy. It was in the midst of the cold war, and China was forging anti-western links and colonial solidarity with newly independent countries. In a huge ramp up of its ambitions, China's economy liberalised in the 1990s and its investment in Africa and the Caribbean exploded."

China issued strong anti-Western statements at a recent global summit and called for stabilised global governance while seeking superpower status and a coordinated anti-Western bloc. Longstanding ties in Africa and the Caribbean underpin that ambition. Cultural outreach in 1980s Sudan included Chinese entertainment on the sole national TV channel and performances at Friendship Hall, a venue built with Chinese assistance and workers. Cold War-era efforts forged anti-Western and anti-colonial links. Economic liberalisation in the 1990s triggered explosive investment, with Africa-China trade rising roughly 700%, making China the continent's largest trading partner.

Read at www.theguardian.com