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Abstract:
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The growing importance of China in Africa today makes the examination of the history of Communist China’s foreign policy towards Africa a necessary undertaking . In recent years , there has been an escalation of attention paid to China’s political and economic role in developing nations , with particular attention granted to China’s policies in African countries . However , China did not just begin to pay attention to Africa at the close of the twentieth century , and it is the purpose of this paper to look at the beginnings of these policies . Chronologically , this paper focuses on the birth and early evolution of China’s foreign policy towards Africa , namely from the years 1954 to 1964 . These dates represent not only the beginning , but also a significant change in China’s foreign policies towards Africa . While many of the policies adopted and adapted by Communist China during this period were to encompass the whole of the emerging third world , this paper focuses on Africa , and in particular Zambia for more specific examples . China played an important role in the newly independent nations of Africa in the early 1960s , and it continues to play a significant , and often controversial , role there today . |