009 China Has Many Of The Characteristics Of An Emerging Colonial Power. How Does It Compare Historically?

Summary: China has been accused of being a neocolonial power in Africa. The country, through semi-governmental organisations is buying up land in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia and investing heavily in resource extractive industries, whose products are then sent back to China for processing into value added goods. Much of this feels familiar to a historian. So is China really an up-and-coming colonial power, or is this something completely new?