Abstract
China's growing involvement in Africa has been actively commented upon over the last few months. In 1996, President Jiang Zemin stated he wanted 'a new relationship' with Africa, based on five points: reliable friendship, sovereignty equality, non-intervention, mutual beneficial development and international cooperation. The year 2001 saw China's entry in the WTO and was marked by a significant growth in the Chinese economy (with an impressive double-digit figure) and the need to secure raw materials to support its tremendous growth has increased considerably ever since . It was decided that 2006 would be the year of Africa in China. At the beginning of the year, President Ju Jutao paid a visit to some African countries for a week. This was the second tour he took since the he had become the president three years ago. A Historic Summit was organized to furnish a new action plan for 2007-2008 by gathering 48 heads of states representing 41 countries in China who received an exceptional welcome.
