The enthusiastic participation of major oil producing African countries was the hallmark of the summit that chalked out a blueprint to guide cooperation between the two sides for the period 2007-2009. China, through its exceedingly generous pledges for financial support to the continent, projected itself during the summit as a serious player in Africa. The overwhelming response displayed by participants, and their eagerness to enter into business deals with their Chinese counterparts, corroborated this fact.

The Chinese leadership, on its part, left no stone unturned to demonstrate its willingness to bear the financial cost for their venture into the African continent -- which has all the potential to turn out to be a smart investment. Apart from offering cooperation on a wide range of issues like politics, economy, international affairs, technological, cultural and social development, China offered a $3 billion preferred loan package and a $2 billion "preferential buyers' credit" to Africa in next three years.

China also pledged to set up a $5 billion China-Africa Development Fund to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa -- the fund will provide the start- up capital for Chinese companies wishing to initiate their business operations in Africa. China announced cancellation of the debts owed to it by the African countries and pledged to set up five trade and economic zones in Africa by 2009. This will automatically compel China to further expose its market to African manufacturers by increasing, from 190 to 440, the list of duty-free export products from least developed African countries.

Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a variety of measures, spanning the major spectrum of relations between China and Africa. He pledged that, in the next three years, China would train over 10,000 African professionals in various fields, establish 10 centers of agricultural excellence, build schools and clinics, and cooperate with African countries in politics and multilateral issues. China is quite actively acquiring natural resource assets, outbidding western contractors on major infrastructure projects, and providing soft loans and other incentives to bolster its competitive advantage in Africa.

The volume of China's trade ($50 billion this year) with Africa -- though still smaller compared to the United States -- is growing at a much faster rate, and its exports to Africa have begun to cross US exports. Perhaps one of the main stimulants behind China's drive into the African continent is its need for cheap energy. With its oil imports souring up, China is now increasingly dependent on African oil that amounts to 30% of all its imports. China National Petroleum Corporation has pumped billions of dollars to acquire the management of Sudan's oil production, estimated at 150,000 barrels per day.

Another Chinese company signed a deal early this year to pay $2.3 billion for a major stake in a Nigerian oil field. Sudan and Angola are the other countries where China is spending heavily on the oil industry. Last year, China extended a $2 billion package of oil-backed loans to Angola, sub Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer after Nigeria. At the same time, the continent is also directly benefiting from China's engagement, and demand for resources has increased prices and propelled significant GDP gains in many African countries.

Thousands of African students are studying at Chinese universities and technical institutes, and Chinese doctors and advisers are working across Africa. Chinese companies are helping in rehabilitation of infrastructure in African countries, buildings and roads, and other ways of modern communication like cell phone services to the remote places. Operating very quietly and steadily, Beijing has, over a decade, assumed a very influential role in the continent.

Take the Darfur issue, where China had been on the forefront in blocking the US-backed sanctions against the Sudanese officials involved in the bloodshed there. The flourishing trade with Sudan kept Beijing from joining hands with the American. Obviously, this development is being skeptically watched by Washington and its allies, who are eager to asphyxiate the Chinese influence in the region. Washington realizes the fact that it has only one option to deter this strategic threat, and that is by increasing its presence on the continent through material and financial support, either directly or through donor agencies.

But the problem with Washington and its Western allies is that, being the exponents and propagators of human rights and democracy, they have to tag this material and financial support with democratic and human rights reforms there. But the pseudo-democracies and dictatorships in Africa are obviously more comfortable with China, which offers the financial support with few strings attached, and does not put any pressure to change their style of governance or human rights handling.

That is why the African countries are more and more turning towards Beijing in the name of "strategic partnership." The fact that 48 out of a total of 53 African nations attended the Beijing summit is itself an indicator of the changing trends in the thinking patterns of the continent. So, China is all out to lead the game in Africa.

Dr Imran Khalid is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.