China's President Xi Jinping has orchestrated an ambitious soft power invasion of African economies that seeks cultural as well as trade ties.
Africa's trading partnership with China takes many forms

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Tanzanian women wait for China's President Xi Jinping to arrive at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, March 24, 2013.

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A building rises behind a Chinese engineer on the skyline of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan in 2009.

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The first lady of South Africa, Bongi Ngema, surveys the table during a March 26 official state lunch while seated with China’s president, Xi Jinping.

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China National Geological and Mining Corporation boosted Ivory Coast’s hope for increased manganese production after major investment in the Lauzoua mine in 2013.