Lucy Corkin

This book is a sequel to the acclaimed ‘China: The Balance Sheet – What the World needs to know about the Emerging Superpower’, published in 2006 as a joint collaboration between The Centre for Strategic and International Studies

In December 2009, Macau marked the 10-year anniversary of the return to Chinese rule. As the one destination in China where gambling is legal, an influx of tourists from mainland China has ensured that Macau’s economic growth has soared in the past decade.

Rotberg’s edited volume is interesting in that it is evident from the contents page that effort has been made to include African, Chinese and Western contributors, both academics and practitioners. This immediately lends credence to the debate that the authors seek to stimulate.

Trade volumes between China and Portuguese-speaking countries have not been immune to the global crisis. Between January and August this year, trade between China and the other members of Forum Macau fell by 31.64 per cent compared to the previous year to US$36.49 billion.

That Jonathan Glennie’s contribution to the ‘African Arguments’ series is considerably more coherent than some of its companion pieces is impressive, given the complexity of the topic that he has tackled.

After a ballot held on 26 July, Former Social and Cultural Affairs Secretary Fernando Chui Sai-on sailed through to become Macau’s new Chief Executive -elect, the second since Macau’s return to China in 1999.

Despite the ensuing global economic downturn, Beijing has spared no effort in further developing relations with the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP).

The authors are acerbic in their analysis of the Bretton Woods institutions’ (BWI) treatment of Mozambique, asserting that the African country is a victim of rabid and dogmatically applied neoliberal ideology.

Vanguard’s documentary Chinatown, Africa , which premiered in late 2008 is a well-informed and multi-faceted commentary on China’s growing role in Africa.