China's Presence in Africa

In November 2006, senior officials from 48 African nations — 43 of whom were heads of state - gathered for a major diplomatic summit. This summit, however, was not convened in Johannesburg, Lagos or Cairo, and the main topic was not Darfur, inflation, regional trade or the rise in Islamic extremism. Rather, the largely ceremonial three-day meeting in Beijing was the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, reflecting China's recent dedicated efforts to spread its diplomatic and economic influence to Africa. Not even at a typical African Union summit do 43 heads of state come together