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The impressive development of the People´s Republic of China has been subject to extensive research in recent years. While most of this research traditionally focused on China´s domestic achievements and shortcomings or the immediate implications this has on other economic powers in the world, China´s increasingly international presence and ambitions have sparked research on the country´s impact on the development trajectory and strategic orientation of other nations. Particularly in Africa, China´s growing presence has aroused a great deal of concern among many Western observers, but it also reinitiated the debate over the effectiveness of development aid and the benefit of foreign direct investments for developing countries. The effects of China´s multilayered effort are complex and often cannot be answered unequivocally. After a review of the formation of Sino-African relartions, this study will draw on the ongoing debate and seek to add new insights into the ramifications for African countries, thereby comparing it to aid achievements of the West.

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Benjamin Wehrmann, born in 1985 in Frankfurt am Main, studied "Economics and Social Sciences" at the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano.

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