China’s Aid and Smart Power in Africa: A Different Partnership and Cooperation Model

Abstract

Essentially based on the analysis of documentary and oral sources collected in libraries and from networks, this paper reexamines the Chinese approach in the field of development aid. It is based on the premise that the Chinese aid policy in Africa combines realism and idealism to reach its foreign policy goals in Africa, and this singularity is firmly rooted in old-fashioned principles stemming from the Chinese strategic culture. To show this assertion is relevant, the article includes three sections. The first section analyzes the cultural principles which determine the Chinese foreign policy as a whole; whereas the last two sections explain their relevance on the realist and idealist dimensions of China’s aid policy in Africa. Finally, we discuss the implications of China’s approach in the field of development aid.