Introduction: China and the EU in Africa: Changing Concepts and Changing Policies

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is divided into five parts. The first part takes an integrated approach to conceptualizing how China's 'march' on Africa perceived primarily from a Chinese perspective. The second part provides an interesting account of the recent military cooperation between the EU and China, on two very specific case studies: maritime cooperation in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia and collaboration in the fight against the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). The third part dedicates to the underlying competitiveness that exists between EU and China in relation to their respective normative power aspirations. Fourth, concentrates on economic development in Africa and competition between China and EU on development aid distribution to Africa. Last part, outlines future for cooperation or competition between the EU and China in Africa and how future relations between the three actors might pan out.