China's engagement in Africa was once associated primarily with economic interests - from oil and mining to infrastructure construction and business - but following the end of a long economic boom, and China's more ambitious foreign policy since 2012, politics has become more central.

In this new book, expert Daniel Large provides a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to contemporary China-Africa relations. China's "new era" under Xi Jinping revealed a self-proclaimed major power that presents itself as both the model and enabler for African development. Often depicted as either predatory or benign, Large goes beyond such superficial categories to explore how Africa is--and isn't--integral to China's global ambitions (from the Belt and Road Initiative to strategic competition with the United States) and how African actors shape and constrain China's engagement in the region. He also shows that, as China seeks to protect its investments, security has become a particularly notable new area of engagement. This introduction to our new era of China-Africa relations will be essential reading for students and scholars working on global politics, development, and international relations.