For a continent raised on a steady diet of conflict, poverty and disease, it is no surprise that Africans are looking to the arrival of the Chinese with the same hope that they once expressed after the departure of the European colonialists half a century ago.

Roads are being rebuilt, disused mines reopened and huge projects embarked upon across the continent by Chinese engineers working in a region once a by-word for rusting infrastructure and economic collapse.

For the African leaders assembling in Beijing this week, China’s decision to engage fully with the continent marks more than simply the promise of economic recovery.

As their Chinese hosts will remind them, it also heralds the start of a relationship between members of the developing world without reference to race or the damaging legacy of colonialism that has so clouded Africa’s ties with America and Europe.

Sahr Johnny, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Beijing, summed up the qualities that make China such an attractive partner in Africa and the shortcomings of doing business with the West when he explained how his country had acquired a new stadium last year.

“The Chinese are doing more than the G8 to make poverty history,” he said, with a dig at this year’s summit of the world’s richest nations at Gleneagles which was devoted to saving Africa.

“If a G8 country had wanted to rebuild the stadium we would still be holding meetings! The Chinese just come and do it. They don’t hold meetings about environmental impact assessment, human rights, bad governance and good governance.

“I’m not saying it’s right, just that Chinese investment is succeeding because they don’t set high benchmarks.” His example has been repeated across the continent.

When Nigeria needed to boost security in the Niger Delta, America hesitated and China moved in quickly to offer patrol boats.

When Angola needed a $2.5 billion loan and was met with a list of tough preconditions from the International Monetary Fund, China stepped in with the cash, no questions asked.

In return, Beijing has secured a large slice of Africa’s energy and mineral riches which are so vital in feeding the expanding Chinese economy.

Western diplomats, aid workers and scholars are loathe to speak out against the blossoming friendship between the globe’s most unlikely new partners. Publicly China’s engagement in Africa has been welcomed. But privately there are growing misgivings about the long-term implications.

China needs Sudan’s oil, so Beijing has blocked action against the government in Khartoum for its murderous policies in Darfur. Robert Mugabe, an old Chinese protégé, has bankrupted his country and falsified elections to stay in power. He still receives money and arms from Beijing in return for mineral concessions.

Ultimately, China and the West may find that neither of their policies works particularly well in Africa, but a combination of both might succeed.

The West could learn from China’s straightforward approach to development in Africa, which contrasts with its own patronising, wasteful and bureaucratic aid programmes that have squandered billions of pounds.

China may learn that its long-term investments in Africa will be far more secure if the governments it supports are honest, democratic and stable, rather than ruled by corrupt dictators.

How China and the West deal with Africa could have a big impact on the rest of the world, where Beijing’s influence is growing by the day.

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