Has China been a friend in Africa?

Despite its undeniable symbolism, Xi Jinping's first trip to Africa as China's president hasn't brought any substantial change to Beijing's rhetorical approach to the resource-rich continent. In his opening address in Tanzania, Xi drew on the same pompous language used by his predecessors. His speech kicked off with a disarming "my dear friends", he referred to "mutually beneficial co-operation" between China and Africa, and labelled the nature of the bilateral relationship as "sincere friendship". He then wrapped the whole thing up with: "Africa belongs to the African people."

But despite the neat and appealing words, the picture he evoked is only partially precise. China's contribution to Africa and to the developing world is irrefutable, as China's insatiable hunger for natural resources has led to dozens of billion-dollar investments and loans - in most cases linking oil or minerals exploitation with infrastructure projects built and financed by China. This is changing many African countries' infrastructures and opens the door to a future of real development.

Such a role is what Xi was suggesting when he said China's investment in Africa had reached US$15 billion last year, while bilateral trade had jumped to more than US$200 billion in the same period.

In this perspective, it is understandable that African political elites are the most enthusiastic supporters of China's role in Africa. On top of the economic impact of Chinese capital, Beijing is perceived as the best partner to help them pave their road to development.

Furthermore, China is also seen as a reliable diplomatic ally - Sudan, Zim- babwe and Angola are good examples - as well as the friend who, behind the "no interference" principle that guides Beijing's foreign policy, doesn't ask embarrassing questions about human rights, corruption or bad business practices. All this explains why China is such an alluring alternative for those recipient countries' elites.

But the sugar-sweet atmosphere in bilateral or multilateral summits, where China typically displays its financial muscle, is only one side of the coin. The other, less visible side happens on the ground and shows us a less idyllic world when giving voice to local populations, as we did in our field research in 25 countries in the developing world, eight of them in Africa.

Surprisingly enough, behind China's multibillion dollar investments and loans, and behind the "win-win situation" official rhetoric, local populations are not always so welcoming of Chinese investment. This raises the key question of who is really benefiting from Chinese engagement with Africa.