Redefining the China-Angola Relationship
Privatization, Development and Disenchantment
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2026
Book
Hardback
248 pages
979-8-216-39022-0 (ISBN)
Description
Providing a comprehensive exploration of China-Angola relations from 2003 to 2025, this book unpacks historical Sino-Angolan relations and contemporary evolutions in their relationship.
China has played a pivotal role in Angola's reconstruction since the Angolan Civil War. Using archival documents and interviews, the author explores China's contribution to Angola's development and its contradictions with particular interest in the privatisation of state relations, the abundance of corruption and opacity, the financial problems caused by China's intervention, debt and Angola's disenchantment with Chinese government's interventions. Structured into three parts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the historical context of the China-Angola relationship, analyses the Golden Age of Sino-Angolan relations and untangles Angola's disillusionment.
By tracing the evolution of this relationship across political, economic and institutional dimensions, this book contributes to a deeper understanding of how African states navigate structural constraints while asserting agency in pursuit of national development.
China has played a pivotal role in Angola's reconstruction since the Angolan Civil War. Using archival documents and interviews, the author explores China's contribution to Angola's development and its contradictions with particular interest in the privatisation of state relations, the abundance of corruption and opacity, the financial problems caused by China's intervention, debt and Angola's disenchantment with Chinese government's interventions. Structured into three parts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the historical context of the China-Angola relationship, analyses the Golden Age of Sino-Angolan relations and untangles Angola's disillusionment.
By tracing the evolution of this relationship across political, economic and institutional dimensions, this book contributes to a deeper understanding of how African states navigate structural constraints while asserting agency in pursuit of national development.
Reviews / Votes
Rui Verde's highly accessible work delivers new understanding of China's increased presence and influence in Africa since the turn of the century. Verde, in challenging assumptions about Chinese 'neo-imperial' manipulation of Africa, shows how both key Chinese and Angolan officials negotiated their way towards cooperation and the shared (and highly profitable) exploitation of Angola's natural resources. This book, based on extensive research and revealing interviews with relevant protagonists, demonstrates that individual and institutional gain, rather than ideology or geopolitics, is central to explaining how China operates in Africa. It will be required reading for policymakers and African scholars alike. * Miles Larmer, Professor of History, University of Florida, USA * Rui Verde's essential work on Angolan corruption is a must-read. In this valuable book, Verde explores the changing nature of Angola-China relations with a deft understanding of the Angolan regime, as well as the economic and political imbalances between the two countries. * Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Full Professor of Political Science, CERI Sciences Po, France *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
4 b&w illus and 5 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-216-39022-0 (9798216390220)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rui Santos Verde is a Research Associate within the African Studies Centre at the University of Oxford, UK, and the Centre Population & Development at the University of Paris-Cite, France. He also teaches African Geopolitics at the Catholic University of Paris, France.
Content
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: An Analytical Framework
Part I. History and Initial Relations Between China and Angola
1. Short Prolegomena: Historical Chinese Incursions in Africa
2. Main Interactions Between China and Angola in the 20st Century (1960s-2002)
Part II. The Golden Age of China-Angola Relations
3. The Quiet Mode: China's Subtle Entry into Angola via Oil Collateral and Private Channels
4. The Angola Model: China's Blueprint for Resource-Backed Reconstruction and Development
5. The Chinese Debt: Strategic Finance and Angola`s Development Dilemma
6. Beyond the Numbers: Corruption and Non-Transparency in China's Angolan Loan Agreements
7. Political and Diplomatic Relations with Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Part III. Joao Lourenco and the Revision of the China-Angola Model
8. Renegotiating the Chinese Debt: Joao Lourenco's Struggle for Fiscal Sovereignty and Strategic Autonomy (2017-2024)
9. The "Odious" Debt Doctrine: Sovereign Liability, Illegitimacy, and the Limits of International Financial Law
10. Continuity Amid Recalibration: China's Presence under Joao Lourenco's Presidency
11. The New Paradigm in China-Angola Relations: More Investment and Less Corruption
12. Summing Up: The Rise and Fall of Sino-Angolan Relations and the Future
References
Index
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: An Analytical Framework
Part I. History and Initial Relations Between China and Angola
1. Short Prolegomena: Historical Chinese Incursions in Africa
2. Main Interactions Between China and Angola in the 20st Century (1960s-2002)
Part II. The Golden Age of China-Angola Relations
3. The Quiet Mode: China's Subtle Entry into Angola via Oil Collateral and Private Channels
4. The Angola Model: China's Blueprint for Resource-Backed Reconstruction and Development
5. The Chinese Debt: Strategic Finance and Angola`s Development Dilemma
6. Beyond the Numbers: Corruption and Non-Transparency in China's Angolan Loan Agreements
7. Political and Diplomatic Relations with Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Part III. Joao Lourenco and the Revision of the China-Angola Model
8. Renegotiating the Chinese Debt: Joao Lourenco's Struggle for Fiscal Sovereignty and Strategic Autonomy (2017-2024)
9. The "Odious" Debt Doctrine: Sovereign Liability, Illegitimacy, and the Limits of International Financial Law
10. Continuity Amid Recalibration: China's Presence under Joao Lourenco's Presidency
11. The New Paradigm in China-Angola Relations: More Investment and Less Corruption
12. Summing Up: The Rise and Fall of Sino-Angolan Relations and the Future
References
Index