In this article we depart from the classic model of foreign direct investment (FDI) determinants and examine the effect of socio-historical factors on FDI. We argue that past foreign aid projects confer social capital that constitutes specific resources available to investors in the present,...

I. Overview of the issues and China's success -- Introduction: Objectives and instruments for China's new presence in Africa / Meine Pieter van Dijk -- China's opening up, from Shenzhen to Sudan / Filip de Beule and Dani(c)±l Van den Bulcke -- II. Instruments. Chinese aid to Africa, origins,...