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China’s rapidly expanding engagement with Africa has been heralded as one of the most important developments in the continent’s post-colonial history, and has been ascribed the potential to radically transform Africa’s economic and political position in the world (Moyo 2009). There are many strands to China’s renewed involvement in Africa and, while most attention has focused on high-level diplomacy, trade and investment, it is increasingly recognised that the growing presence of Chinese migrants on the continent is a key factor in determining how China-Africa relations unfold. As Chris Alden (2007, 128) has argued, “The behaviour of thousands of newly settled Chinese businessmen and the conduct of the African communities in which they live and work will matter as much as the diplomacy and concessions made at the government level.” Consequently, studies of Chinese migrants in various African countries are emerging and these have begun to deepen our understanding of the nature of this migration and how those involved organise their economic activities and operate transnationally (Haugen and Carling 2005; Ho 2008; Dobler 2009; Huynh et al. 2010; Giese and Thiel 2014). Yet our knowledge of how the Chinese presence is impacting upon African development remains limited. In attempting to better understand the impact of migration on development, we turn to the relationship between migration and social transformation. This has been conceptualised most coherently by the sociologist and migration scholar Stephen Castles (2009 and 2010) and his work broadens and complexifies the often narrow, normative and over-simplified debates about the developmental role of migration that have re-emerged over the last 15 years. The notion of social transformation therefore offers a more sophisticated framework for exploring the dynamics and effects of migration and reminds us that migration is profoundly embedded in wider processes of social change, being both a driver and an outcome. Our analysis begins by discussing in more detail the potential and limitations of migration and social transformation approaches. While these approaches offer a more nuanced and contextualised understanding of migration and its effects, their focus has been on South-North migration rather than on South-South flows. Furthermore, we argue that these conceptualisations need to expand to incorporate the agency of local actors with whom migrants interact and the way these relationships and their outcomes are shaped by the politics of class. In developing this argument, we draw on our data to chart some of the social changes and new social relations with which the expanded Chinese presence is involved. We argue that, while many of the social, economic and political effects of the Chinese presence are significant, they are not necessarily transformative in and of themselves. However, we contend that the ways in which these effects are entwined in localised social, economic and political dynamics mean that they have the potential to contribute to broader processes of transformation, although not always in ways deemed positive or progressive. Here, we aim to demonstrate that the impact of Chinese migrants is incorporated into wider processes of social change through the agency of local actors and the politics of class – factors that have been underplayed not only in social transformation perspectives on migration but also in the emerging body of work on resurgent China-Africa relations (Corkin 2013; Mohan and Lampert 2013).

This article provides a political economy framework for analysing China's engagements with Africa. It situates the rise of China in the context of the changing balance of power in the world system and particularly China's re-entry into spheres of influence in Africa that have been the purview of the former European colonial powers for two centuries or more. It begins by arguing that current approaches to China, Africa and international relations are fragmented in particular ways which prevent the development of a more critical political economy. It then examines a pervasive theme in China–Africa relations, which assumes that the Chinese work through enclaved investments to secure the resources of low-income economies, though in this sense the Chinese are no different from other investors. Where they do differ is in their bundling of aid, trade and FDI and their use of imported labour, which has been termed ‘surgical colonialism’. The article does not dispute the existence of Chinese enclaves but argues that we need more empirical evidence on the levels of labour importation in relation to local labour market conditions. This requires a more nuanced understanding of state–capital dynamics in those countries where the Chinese operate although the model appears to be one of elite brokerage. However, the enclaved investments and inter-elite bargaining are only part of the story and the closing sections of the article analyse the role of independent Chinese businesses in Africa's social and political development, which moves us beyond the enclave.

Most analyses of China’s renewed engagement with Africa treat China as the driving force, and little recognition is given to the role of African agency, especially beyond the level of state elites. This article investigates the extent of African agency in engagements with China and argues that at various levels African actors have negotiated, shaped, and even driven Chinese engagements in important ways. Suggesting a theoretical framework that captures agency both within and beyond the state, the article provides an empirical analysis of African agency first by showing how elements of the Angolan state created a hybrid set of institutions to broker Chinese investment projects, and second by discussing how African social actors have influenced and derived benefits from the activities of Chinese migrants in Ghana and Nigeria. While both cases demonstrate African agency, the ability of African actors to exercise such agency is highly uneven, placing African politics at the heart of any understanding of China–Africa relations.