In December 2015, Chinese and African heads of state and government officials met in Johannesburg for the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the latest in a series of ongoing efforts to build and maintain strong links between China and Africa.

This set of policy essays is based on presentations and speeches given at the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) event held in parallel with the summit, and addresses many of the issues discussed there including: industrialisation, employment dynamics, conservation, governance, and peace and security in the context of changing China-Africa relations.

It features contributions from academic experts from ODI, DEGRP and the South African Institute of International Affairs, as well as speeches from Justin Yifu Lin, ex-World Bank Chief Economist, and UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador Helen Hai.