No other country comes near the depth and breadth of China’s engagement in Africa. It is Africa’s largest trading partner, bilateral creditor and a crucial source of infrastructure investment. Chinese firms account for an estimated one-eighth of the continent’s industrial output. Chinese-built digital infrastructure is critical to the platforms on which Africans communicate. Political, military and security ties are becoming closer. Understanding the China-Africa relationship is key to understanding the continent—and the global ambitions of Xi Jinping.