This edited collection is a companion volume to the earlier 2007 volume published by Fahamu on African Perspectives on China in Africa. It arises out of a workshop held in 2008 which brought together Chinese and African participants from civil society and academia to discuss these issues. The distinctive nature of the book arises from the Chinese perspectives presented.

Most of the chapters are relatively short overviews and provide useful updates on a number of themes and issues, such as China's strategic relations with Africa. One of the chapters also discusses the history and evolution of African studies in China. After broader overview chapters, the book then moves on to country case studies which are perhaps more novel, interesting and engaging. Some of these chapters are based on primary research, although often undertaken for non-academic purposes. Probably the most notable chapter amongst these is the one by Daniel Ribeiro on ‘Disappearing forests, disappearing hope: Mozambique’, which looks at the environmental impacts of Chinese companies. To this reviewer's knowledge this is the only empirically based work on China's environmental impact, and it contains many shocking statistics and stories related to deforestation.

One of the things to come out strongly from the book is the areas of difference and overlap between Chinese and African perspectives on China in Africa. Most contributors are critical of Western hegemony and structural adjustment in Africa, with a former African Development Bank official, Sanou Mbaye, writing of the ‘power, the adaptability and monstrosity of free market forces’ (p. 46). However, while the African contributors tend to be more sceptical of the role of political elites in both China and Africa, some of the Chinese contributors write of the ‘great leader’, Mao Zedong, the ‘supposed’ human rights abuses of the Sudanese government, and the fundamental ‘equality’ between China and African countries.

Some of the contributions are perhaps a little naive, as they end with a list of policy proposals which Chinese and African governments should pursue. While some are interesting, such as the proposal that Chinese and African governments should push for press freedom, in the absence of an analysis of the deeper social and political forces at play, calling for the promotion of democratisation is unrealistic. However, the Chinese government is already adopting many innovative economic and environmental initiatives such as building one hundred clean energy projects in Africa.

This is a useful addition to the literature on China in Africa. It is not primarily an academic book, but contains many interesting facts and some important individual contributions. Perhaps its most distinctive aspect, as noted earlier, is the different perspectives presented which enable a dialogue to be established, most notably between Chinese and African non-governmental organisations. This of itself is an important and refreshing development.