China's increasing presence in Africa has become clear in the past couple of years. (For my own writing on this — with links — see here, here, here, here and here.) The Asian continent's other giant, India has been watching, and has designs on increasing its presence in Africa. China's role at best represents a dual-edged sword, and in the most realistic assessments Beijing represents a potentially dangerous and destabilizing force for most of Africa. Perhaps India will provide another option for African countries faced with the enticement of Chinese investment or none at all.
