By 2015, China will be investing an eye-popping $50bn per year in Africa and bilateral trade with the continent will be $300bn annually, according to research from Standard Chartered.
But the future of Chinese companies in Africa may be under review, given the way that recent events in Libya have played out. China had a large presence there: more than 30,000 Chinese workers were living and working in Libya before the unrest broke out, according to Chinese officials.
Because China has never imposed economic sanctions on Libya – and in fact the two countries once saw themselves as revolutionary allies, decades ago – Chinese companies were very active across the Libyan economy, from construction projects, to railways, to telecoms.