Conflicting and Complementary Elements in China and U.S.'s Policy towards Africa

Since the launching of the China-Africa Forum in 2000, the Chinese government has comprehensively strengthened its ties with Africa.China＇s trade, investment, and aid in Africa have been expanding. Africa has been placed at the forefront of national strategy. Also in 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act （AGOA）, increasing America＇s attention towards Africa. Since then, both China and the U.S. have been increasing their trade, investment, and aid in Africa. In 2011, the trade volume between China and Africa reached US$166.3 billion while that between the U.S. and Africa was US$113.2 billion. Unfortunately, China and the U.S. have not sought a cooperative pattern of action in Africa based on complementarity, mutual respect and mutual benefit. Instead, they have accused each other of bad conduct.