China-Africa Relations in the 21st Century

The intent of this research is to determine if the People's Republic of China (PRC) has the potential to affect the mission of USAFRICOM and, if so, how USAFRICOM should respond. To conduct this research, I conducted a thorough review of existing literature, including documents published by the US and PRC governments, journals and newspaper articles to create a record of China's activities in Africa since 1996. From these documents, I extrapolated China's grand strategy toward Africa and its potential impact on USAFRICOM operations. This information, combined with US national objectives, provided the basis for recommendations on how USAFRICOM should respond to the PRC's activities.