Addressing Africa's structural trade imbalance is therefore as much a concern of Africa's ties with China as it is of Africa's relations with all of its traditional commercial partners. For its part, China has constructively attempted to diversify its imports from Africa. Having extended zero-tariff treatment to 440 products in 2006, China committed to open up its market to African products further at the fourth FOCAC meeting in Egypt, phasing in zero-tariff treatment to 95 percent of the products from the African least developed countries (LDC) having diplomatic relations with China, starting with 60 percent of the products by the end of 2010. For the most part, few African governments have taken note of the 440 products previously given preferential access to Chinese markets since 2006.

China offers opportunities for Africa's constructive engagement. China's internal demand is set to grow rapidly over the next decade, from $1.5 trillion in 2009 to around $5 trillion by 2020. Given that China and Africa's economic destinies are increasingly intertwined, any seismic shift in the Chinese economy will have a tremendous bearing on broader Sino-African ties. Despite pessimistic projections to the contrary, African countries have clear opportunities to participate in the opportunities provided by the awakening of China's consumer power, allowing a crucial impetus for the continent to embed itself more meaningfully into global supply chains.

China's size affords it an unfair advantage in negotiating ties with African states

Challenge: Accusations of Chinese neo-mercantilism are commonplace; implying that China takes selfishly what it needs with limited local consideration, extending limited gains to the host nation.

China has already had a major impact on Africa. The share of Africa's total imports originating from China increased from 5 percent in 2001 to 12 percent in 2008; the share of Africa's exports heading to China has increased, from 3 percent in 2001 to 10 percent in 2008. In contrast, Africa has had a far more muted impact on China. For instance, Africa only accounts for 4 percent of China's trade. The lop-sided distribution of economic power, of China over Africa, means that China does have an advantage in negotiating the rules of engagement. Gu and Humphrey (2008:2) warn: "All too often, the image presented, by Africans as well as outsiders, is that of a strong and strategic China facing a weaker less coherent group of African states."

Much like each of Africa's trade partners and African countries themselves, China's engagement is driven by national interest. Given the unequal distribution of power, it is assumed that the gains from the relationship are also likely to be skewed in favour of China. In particular, the gains from Chinese participation in Africa are frequently accused of having limited positive externalities owing to China's vertical integration formula. In short, a high rate of participation by Chinese firms and labor in the entire supply chain, from management, project designs, labor, materials and technology, implies that the technological and skill transfer during a project's lifespan is marginal (Le Pere, 2008a). In other words, Chinese projects are insulated from the country in which the project occurs. The situation is exacerbated, according to certain claims, by the fact that Chinese companies often use a large proportion of Chinese labor, which forms "closed enclaves" that are "insensitive to local customs, norms and social practices" (Le Pere, 2008a:18). Some even attest that state-owned Chinese companies prohibit any type of fraternization between employees. Chinese companies that import their own labor limit the transfer of skills to the recipient African country.

However, local considerations have gained traction through learning-by-doing. According to Corkin and Burke (2008), apart from notable exceptions like Angola and Sierra Leone, approximately 85 percent of labor used by Chinese companies in Africa is sourced locally. In fact, five years ago Chinese enterprises looking to do business were entirely unaware of local considerations in summing up project feasibility. Today, local considerations routinely rank in the top-five considerations for expansion in the continent. Even in terms of corporate social responsibility, Chinese enterprises are becoming increasingly sensitive to broader local social responsibilities. For instance, at the 2009 FOCAC summit, Premier Wen Jiabao (2009) highlighted the need to train Chinese companies in corporate social responsibility, a concept which has only recently begun to gain traction in China.