China and the European Union in Africa sets out the ambitious, interesting agenda of examining dynamics among three distinct, disparate players in contexts of economic investment, political diplomacy, socioeconomic development, and conflict management in twenty-first century Africa. As a collection, the volume makes an important contribution to understanding the historical contexts of politics, economics, and ideology that enter into triangular engagements among China, the EU (European Union), and Africa, underscoring the evolving and contested nature of these unfolding relationships.
Several chapters stand out for their strong contributions to the field of China–Africa studies. Early in the volume, two Chinese contributors emphasize the historical evolution and continued adaptation of China’s Africa policies. Bo Zhiyue provides a detailed historical account of how China’s policies toward Africa fit into the larger picture of China’s political development. Zhao Suisheng suggests that while China’s immediate objectives in Africa have continued to be economic, China has also responded progressively to Western criticism of its policies and practices in Africa. Taken together, these chapters emphasize that there is not one static or monolithic entity, “China,” that engages “Africa,” but rather that China’s policies are historically contingent and continue to evolve today.
Interestingly, these two chapters arrive at contradictory conclusions about the nature of China’s Africa policy: whereas Bo indicates that China’s Africa policy is “comprehensive and strategic” (36), Zhao argues that “China has failed to design a grand strategy towards the continent” (61). Rather than insisting on one overriding analysis of China–EU–Africa engagement, the editors allow such inconsistencies within the collection to persist. It is vital to maintain such diversity of analysis: such divergences reflect the very real tension and variegation in China–Africa dynamics. The volume would have been strengthened, however, if the editors had addressed such contradictions head-on, providing a unique and engaging space for creative, critical analysis of issues at the core of EU–China–Africa policy and scholarship.
Also valuable are the two chapters in part 2 which highlight transnational security issues that face the EU, China, and Africa collectively and explore the potential for international cooperation in combating significant security threats in Africa. The chapter by Larik and Weiler astutely discusses the pressing international issue of piracy off the coast of Somalia. and suggests ways that the EU and China could collaborate more effectively in antipiracy missions. It would have provided a more balanced analysis, however, if it had addressed the political, economic, environmental, and social contexts of contemporary Somalia more robustly. Wheeler’s chapter addresses the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, analyzing the role that China and the EU might play to reduce the illicit spread of weapons throughout the continent. Wheeler argues that increased control over small arms in Africa constitutes another crucial issue for collaboration among the European Union, China, and African nations.
While much of the volume treats Africa as merely the backdrop—the context—for engagement between China and the European Union, the chapters by Ogunleye and Wissenbach in part 3 of the book present African states as active participants. The final section of Ogunleye’s chapter has the subtitle “The Role of Africa” and offers the volume’s sole commentary about what African nations and their leaders should consider doing to engage the European Union and China more effectively. With concrete suggestions for political integration, economic development, and capacity building, Ogunleye argues that African nations need to coordinate their interests and strategies both regionally and continentally. In a similar tenor, Wissenbach calls for “functional solutions” and cooperative multilateralism—including more effective coherence within the African Union—signaling that now is the time for African nations and pancontinental institutions to take the lead in shaping engagement by both the EU and China in Africa.
The volume would have been strengthened substantially if the editors had provided a clearer conceptual framework. In particular, the book is unclear about what entities constitute “Europe,” “China,” and “Africa.” In their introduction, the editors provide a helpful and intriguing overview of the political integration of European nations into the EU with a focus on the evolution of European policy toward Africa. However, the editors’ overview of European engagement in Africa fails to disaggregate European nations that actually served as colonial powers on the continent—with many different agendas and outcomes, none of which is addressed—from the contemporary political-economic bloc of the EU. Furthermore, the editors should have clarified differences among entities such as the European Community, the European Economic Community, the European Commission, and the European Union as distinct and not interchangeable European entities that engage both Africa and China. At points in the analysis, European entities become rolled together with other institutions and individuals that are broadly Western but not “European,” such as the United Nations, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and even with a broad range of individuals (perhaps including American celebrities among the “European individuals who called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics”[12]). The merging of various European entities, neoliberal ideologies, international institutions, and individuals of European extraction under the heading of “Europe” undermines the analysis of Europe’s role in the contemporary African geopolitical context.
The volume also offers insightful discussions about the evolution of China’s policies toward Africa, highlighting that China’s “Africa policy” has not consisted of a single, uncontested agenda. But because of its analytical focus on Chinese government policy, the volume insufficiently discusses the various layers and experiences of “China” in Africa, including provincial- and municipal-level delegations, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and also the proliferation of unofficial, private Chinese engagements with African companies, merchants, and individuals throughout the continent.
Finally, utterly absent from the discussion is the political evolution of Africa itself. After considering European and Chinese political development vis-à-vis Africa, the book is strikingly lacking in its consideration of African political development at the level of individual nations, of regional organization such as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), or of the continental level such as the African Union (AU).
A stronger frame of analysis could also have encouraged more critical evaluation of the variable weights of geopolitical and economic importance of each “bloc” for the others, analyzing the relative importance of China to Africa; Africa to China; the EU to Africa; Africa to the EU; China to the EU; and the EU to China. Instead, the reader is left with the notion that the EU and China are essentially balanced protagonists in a geopolitical engagement set on the stage of Africa, empty of individual people and communities but rich in resources and political-economic opportunities.
