A Rising China in Africa– A Vilfied Comrade? A Perspective From Inside Africa

China in the past seven decades has metamorphosed from a poor Asian country into a giant political, economic, social force on the world stage. With a per capita Gross Domestic Product of 188 USD in 1977 1 , the country moved away from its originally closed economy to a more open system under the then leader Deng Xiaoping, enlarging relations with other economies such as the United States, neighbouring Asia, as well as Africa. In fact, today, China is the world's largest economy per GDP PPP (Purchasing Power Parity)a determinant that most scholars agree is the best indicator of a country's economic strength 2 , exceeding the United States since2014 3 .