Hu woos Africa

After pressing the flesh in the US, the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, moves on to Africa this week.

It is 50 years since China first established a presence in Africa, forging diplomatic relations with Egypt. Beijing's courtship of African countries during the cold war was symbolised by its help in ambitious projects, such as the Tanzam railway between Tanzania and Zambia.

The venture was designed to show the world that China took its fraternal socialist responsibilities seriously and to demonstrate the existence of ideological and economic alternative to the US and the then-USSR.

Now China is cultivating ties in Africa not out of socialist ideals but out of economic necessity. The country's booming economy craves natural resources such as oil and minerals. Oil contracts have been signed with Nigeria and Gabon, while Chinese mining companies are setting up shop in South Africa to buy cobalt, copper, nickel and platinum in southern Africa.