Colonialism and imperialism are the kinds of subjects that students in the U.S. and Europe study in school, framed within the assumption that they have very little applicability in contemporary geopolitics. But for the Chinese, these issues remain very close to the surface and make up a core tenant of Beijing’s discourse with its African counterparts.

China regards the fact that it suffered at the hands of the same colonialists who subjugated Africa as a key differentiator. It regularly reminds both Westerners and Africans themselves that Britain, Portugal, France, and Germany all colonized portions of China through the 18th and 19th centuries.