For nearly three decades the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) has implemented an international outreach campaign designed to build ties with African political parties. In the pursuit of improved official state-to-state relations and Chinese domestic economic development the CPC’s International Department and its various related organizations have engaged African parties with deep pockets and admirable adroitness. CPC delegations are valuable forward teams that work with African counterparts to lay the foundations for commercial and diplomatic cooperation and provide opportunities for interpersonal interactions among Chinese and African political elites. Despite its success, however, the CPC’s International Department remains, among the “least well understood organs of China’s foreign policy system.”

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