Over the last few years, much has been written about the “new scramble for Africa” — the attempt by countries and companies to increase their access to markets and natural resources on the continent.

In one telling, China has been the principal actor donning neocolonial garb to advance its interests. Growing economic and political interest in Africa certainly has been driven by the impact of Chinese demand on natural resource prices and the country’s need for new overseas markets to absorb the products of its expanding economy. China is now the world’s largest consumer of many commodities, such as copper and also, reportedly, illegally harvested timber (although much of this ends up in products destined for Western markets).

Despite popular perceptions that emphasize external neocolonialism, the contemporary jostling has also involved African companies — particularly those from South Africa, which has developed close ties to China — sometimes in joint ventures or implicit partnerships with other BRICS-based companies.