I generally approach any statistics having to do with Sino-African relations with a great deal of caution, especially when they are drawn from Chinese sources. Yet I couldn't help but marvel at this figure announced several days ago by Chinese Commerce Minister Cheng Deming:
No, that's not the new American bailout estimate (indeed, that figure will be much, much greater), but rather the trade volume between China and Africa in 2008. Goodness! Now if this figure is true, or some version of the truth, then there remains little doubt that China has become the most important actor in the continent, having surpassed both the U.K. and the United States in terms of trade. Of course Chinese trade carries with it a great price tag, but it also does well to build China's growing sphere of influence. Geopolitical expansion at its finest.