In just a decade, China has become a dominant force in many African countries. It is now South Africa’s largest trading partner and looks to Africa to supply its energy needs and as a valuable new market for its goods. In Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon, thriving China Towns have developed, creating new frictions. Police face a wave of illegal immigrants and an influx of Chinese prostitutes whilst locals object to the working culture of their Chinese bosses. Meanwhile the old French community must contend with a new ‘colonial power’ in a land they once thought of as their own.
What China has baptised 'The New Silk Road' allows a pair of trainers to be transported by train from China to France in less than two weeks. But they also act as a vehicle for a wave of Chinese expansionism across the world.
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