Exploitation or Investment of Africa’s Land Resources by the Chinese

The chapter seeks to discuss the thin line between the Africa–China relationship of exploitation or investment in African resources. The chapter comes from the background that China has a lot of relationships with Africa during the pre-independence and post-independence periods. The major discourse of the chapter seeks to know the cost–benefit conundrum between Africa and China over the past decades. The methodology used in the chapter includes a desktop study involving themes like water augmentation, mining, construction, and forest resources. Results of the chapter argue that there is a need for critical analysis in as much as Africa looks east to giant China due to more harm to its resources than benefit being experienced. The chapter argues that a gap exists in the knowledge of exploitation or investment in the Africa–China relationship on land resources. Political leaders are the forefront runners in Africa’s land grab resources exploitation. The Africa–China relationship needs critical analysis as more projects being implemented need environmental impact analysis, cost–benefit analysis, and resources being mined by the Chinese lead to land degradation, forest depletion, soil erosion, climate change (ozone layer depletion), and land and air pollution. Conversely, benefits such as employment creation, poverty reduction, and economic growth can be seen. The chapter recommends that there is a need for African leaders to implement policies and laws that protect their land and resources.