Feel strongly about this letter, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. How can Sino-Africa relations help change European policy towards the continent? Since its decolonisation, Africa has been marked by what seems like chronic economic and political dependency, whether with regard to former colonial masters or international organisations such as the European Union, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. That dependency has been accompanied by decades-long economic malaise, political instability and high corruption. Western governments and international organisations have delivered a set of structural reforms to Africa in the form of aid policies in exchange for pro-market reforms, political liberalisation and openness to Western markets and products. The result of those policies – known as the Washington Consensus – faces enormous criticism. Africa continues to suffer meagre economic growth and is still dependent on or indebted to Western governments and international organisations. China’s economic growth in recent decades marked the development of transformative and closer trade relations between China and Africa in the 21st century. The two share the same opinion on the Western-led campaign for human rights and structural reforms. China and most of Africa regard economic development as a priority over concerns such as individual rights and liberalisation. African countries have viewed the rapid economic development of China as an example and a reliable alternative to the political system and economic structure that Western powers have pressured Africa to adopt. Africa needs to rely on a regional power and a major manufacturing economy to provide economic support for its development. Meanwhile, China needs natural resources to sustain its level of economic growth. African states that are in need of investment tend to find China’s offers of investment and its stated policy of not interfering in other sovereign countries’ internal affairs more appealing than Western offers of credit. China’s increasing influence in Africa is a source of anxiety for European countries and corporations. Instead of seeing China as a competitor, Europe should take a conciliatory position and acknowledge that Beijing will be an important player in Africa in the long term. The EU can also continue to be an important partner for Africa, but it must be in a new form which recognises and respects African countries as equals with sovereignty, agency and their own aspirations. Roberto Santos, Belas, Portugal