Originally Posted by
Probe
Not really, but sort of. China has a long history of ties to the middle east and Africa because of the silk road. China has spent a lot of money in those places the last 15 years to secure access to natural resources.
The silk road still runs both ways. Rare animal products and drugs are sold widely throughout China by Africans, completely in the open, and on the street.
But, I actually agree with most of what you said. They really don't have any allies that truly matter. Nigerian drug dealers on the streets of CAN and PVG don't exactly make good, strategic allies like the UK or Japan do for the US.
But their "friends" in Africa are not exactly happy with the Chinese these days. For all of the inroads the Chinese are trying to make, they are not doing a great job. Most of the countries the Chinese are trying to make investments in are former British colonies and have a long history of doing business with western nations. Many in these nations are not happy with the Chinese way of doing things, and the Chinese are paying far less than the western nations have in the past which is leading to a lot of resentment towards China.
(My source for this is a friend who works for the U.S. State Department. He was stationed in Africa before being stationed in China and this is his area of expertise).