Yi is a Guiding Principle of China’s Foreign Policy in Africa

Introduction

The “tell China’s Stories well” and “Spread the voice of the Chinese well” campaigns, which President Xi Jinping introduced at the National Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference in Beijing in August 2013 (Szczudlik, 2018, p. 1), were made necessary by China’s desire to influence international perceptions of the nation. President Xi said the main goal was to establish China’s status as a great power and eliminate or lessen, to the barest minimum, negative perceptions of China.

As if to highlight the importance of this campaign, the first chapter in President Xi’s book on The Governance of China ¹ is devoted to elevating the voice of China and effectively communicating the Chinese narrative. He says the “Chinese voice” was able to be heard around the world as a result of the reporting on the 18th National Congress (Xi, 2014, p. 3). He also states at the end of the chapter that both China and the rest of the world need to understand one another better. According to him, it’s his hope that journalists will keep working harder and contributing more to enhance the understanding between China and the rest of the world (Xi, 2014, p. 5). The campaign, as Szczudlik (2018) correctly noted, has two facets: the domestic one, which aims to enhance nationalism and patriotism, and the external one, on which we will focus.

On his part, in order to promote “China’s Voice” in the international system, president Xi has and continues to introduce new concepts with Chinese characteristics to promote and shape a unique form of international relations that acknowledges China’s role as a major power while promoting an avenue for others to appreciate Chinese culture and values. Most of the ideas put forward by President Xi are flavored with Chinese culture, political ideology, and philosophy. According to Ambassador Liu Jia Yi, Former Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations, President Xi’s diplomatic philosophy provides strong and practical guidance for promoting Chinese ideas about multilateral institutions (Liu, 2017). According to Wang (2018), the concept of a “community of shared future” is based on the ideas of community embodied in the traditional culture of China.

Although one might argue that leaving most concepts uninterpreted and without a translated variant, or a proper interpretation, could be a show of soft power and a subtle way to project Chinese language on the international scene, Yang (2012) has rightly noted, failing to properly translate and interpret Chinese concepts for foreign audiences will only lead to misinterpretation and distortions which will negatively influence their perception of the country. Yang says, some countries may “even go as far as deliberately using it as the vital evidence to suggest a China threat” (Yang, 2012, p. 2). As Yang makes clear, if diplomatic concepts are not adequately translated and interpreted, they may trigger diplomatic disputes and sometimes, even an irrevocable loss in China’s national interests (Yang, 2012, p. 3).

Zhengque Yi Li Guan (hereafter ZYLG) is one of the strategic ideas put forward by President Xi Jinping in March 2013, to guide Sino-African relations (Guo & Chen 2017, p. 172). It means that while pursuing one’s interests, it is important to take into account those of others for the sake of justice and fairness. President Xi has used it more than 40 times, since March 24–25, 2013, when Xi visited Tanzania, where he stated China would follow this principle in its relations with the African states (CRI.CN, 2016; Yang, 2021). The Constitution of the Communist Party of China adopted at the 19th National Congress of the party states that, in international affairs, China will adhere to ZYLG, to “safeguard independence and sovereignty, oppose hegemony and power politics, and safeguard world peace” (Luo, 2018; Shang, 2018). However, since its introduction, the concept has not been granted an official translation nor has there been a proper and contextual conceptualization of the concept, especially with relevance to the African countries. There has been many different translations of ZYLG both in official sources and unofficial sources, which indicates there is need for improvement on the part of both China’s diplomatic translators and journalists.

To stress the need for a uniform translation and proper interpretation of this important principle, this article examines the most relevant translations of ZYLG. For instance, in a 2015 document entitled: President Xi Jinping’s 10 Key Remarks on Developing China-Africa Relations, ZYLG was translated as “The Correct View of Morality and Interest” (Wang, 2015). But on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, in a document credited to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, it was translated as “The Right Concept of Morality and Benefits.” ZYLG has also been translated as “The Correct Concept of Justice and Benefit” (Wang & Chen, 2022); “The Greater Good and Self-Interest” (SCIO, 2018); “Pursuing the Greater Good and Shared Interests” (China.org.cn, 2021); “Upholding Justice and Pursuing Shared Interests” (China Keywords, 2019); “Upholding Principles and Pursuing Interests” (China.org.cn 2014); “The Values Of Friendship, Justice and Shared Interests” (China Daily, 2015); “Upholding Justice and Seeking Interests,” “The Right Approach To Upholding Justice and Seeking Interests,” the “Correct Value of Moral and Shared Interest” (Bi & Han, 2020); and the “Correct Concept of Justice and Interests” (Modestus, 2023)

The lack of uniformity in the translation of this idea is perhaps due to the lack of clarity about the meaning of this concept in China. Having established the lack of uniformity in the translation of ZYLG in official sources, this article shall however attempt to offer an accurate interpretation with relevance to Sino-African relations. It is important to state that the scope of this article is limited primarily to interpreting Yi which is Justice and its relevance in Sino-African relations. For the full analysis of the translation of the entire concept, see Modestus (2023). The author proposes ZYLG should be translated as “the correct concept of justice and interests.”

Furthermore, the author claims that “Justice” meaning fairness and/or impartiality and “Interests” meaning national interests, best captures the meaning of the concept and best fits Sino-African relations. The current study is part of a broader project on Sino-African diplomatic discourse analysis, including the construction of Sino-African diplomatic discourse, discourse translation and interpretation, as well as discourse communication. As stated above, in this article, only the discourse interpretation of Yi in “Zhengque Yi Li Guan” shall be scrutinized. Yi represents the guiding principle of China’s foreign policy towards Africa. Also, in the authors opinion, Yi can serve as a conceptual focus for analyzing Sino-African diplomatic relations and cooperation.

The current study attempts to interpret Yi in order to suit the trajectory of China–Africa cooperation, while offering a reconstruction of the word as a framework to evaluate China’s diplomatic stance toward Africa. The author contends that this can be used to evaluate Sino-African connections at all levels—political, economic, cultural, and philosophical. Yi can also be used to clarify a variety of issues regarding Sino-African relations and to comprehend the fundamental ideas that underpin China’s approach to the continent. In particular, this study examines how the political, cultural, and linguistic diversity among African nations directly and indirectly affects how “Y” should be interpreted. Thus, this research offers a new perspective on Sino-African collaboration and intercultural understanding.

Theoretical Framework

Theories are usually employed to explain a phenomenon and to create an understanding of a particular subject. This study uses the Political Equivalence Theory of Professor Yang Mingxing as this study›s theoretical framework for analysis. It is a theory used in the field of diplomatic studies, especially in analyzing Chinese diplomatic discourse (Yang, 2008, p. 91; Yang & Yan, 2016, p. 661). This theory is particularly important since it takes context into account and explains how philosophy, culture, and politics are interwoven in Chinese diplomatic discourse and why it is important to take them into account. Political Equivalence, as the name implies, stresses the importance of politics in diplomatic discourse interpretation. The distinguishing factor between this and other types of equivalent theories is its emphases on political context. It focuses attention on the political ideology and political context of Chinese words which are dynamic and constantly changing based on their context and connotation (Yang 2012, p. 4,5)

A basic assumption is that the words used in political discourse are imbued with the intentions, attitudes, beliefs, and ideology of the person/country which uses them, particularly in diplomatic discourse. In this respect, translators and interpreters play an important role in communicating and translating diplomatic conversations, both between the diplomates and what is shared with the general public. The translation and interpretation of diplomatic discourse, most of the time, could be said to be a transfer of culture and political ideology between the diplomates of the countries involved (Yang, 2008, p. 94), and a great deal of attention should be paid to this. And it is not really possible to use a literal translation of the exact meaning of the words used in diplomatic discourse; therefore, the best option is to seek to achieve an equivalence, that is, the political equivalence of the words used in the languages involved (Yang, 2008, p. 93).

Although, most African countries are English-speaking countries, they do not share the same culture with other English-speaking countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. The cultural differences of the African countries need to be appreciated in translations and it is necessary to consider the cultural values, language habits, and identities of the people in each country. If only one culture is emphasized in translation, then it’s difficult to achieve equivalence in translation and interpretation. This is due to the cultural and political diversity of the people who live on this continent. Sino-African diplomatic discourses need to be attuned to multiple perspectives and avoid ethnic/racial stereotyping. Therefore, it is important to study and take into account the attributes of each individual country involved.

According to Yang (2008, 2012), there are three dimensions that should be taken into account in diplomatic discourse: (a) Equilibrium, or balance, in the relationship between the Source Language (SL) and the Target Language (TL), that is, translation should attempt to balance the context and meaning of the SL and of the TL as closely as possible. (b) Dynamism, which requires translators and interpreters to be conversant with current trends in both the SL and TL as well as changes in the political situation in both the SL and TL countries. This is because language and the meaning of words are always changing, as such, it’s critical to consider how language use, cultural norms, and perceptions change over time. Therefore, the translator must possess a thorough understanding of both the SL and TL language environments. (c) Flexibility/adjustability is necessary. A single, restrictive methodology, such as a sense-for-sense approach or a word-for-word approach should not be followed. The translation must be flexible and adaptably dependent on the speaker’s environment, history, relationships with other countries, and comprehension of the issues involved.

Making Sense of Yi in Sino-African Diplomatic Discourse

The Chinese concept of Yi can mean (in English) “justice,” “just,” and “righteousness” depending on how it is used and the context in which it is used. In ancient China, Yi was used to refer to virtues such as “morality,” “justice,” and “righteousness,” which helps to explain why it has often been translated in recent time as “morality” (Wang, 2014),“the greater good” (SCIO, 2018), “upholding principles” (China.org.cn, 2014), “morality” (Bi & Han, 2020), “righteousness” (Zheng, 2019), and “justice” (Modestus, 2023; Wang & Chen, 2022). We contend Yi should generally be translated as “justice” in the moral and philosophical sense.

According to the Oxford dictionary, the word justice is defined as just behavior or treatment, and it is synonymous with fairness, impartiality, neutrality, and the quality of being fair and reasonable (Modestus, 2023). According to Gang (2019, p. 40), Yi is one of the core principles of Confucianism. In the Anglo-Saxon cultural context, Rawls (1999) contends justice is the first virtue of social institutions, and any institution, no matter how effective, must be changed or eliminated if it is unjust. This helps to illustrate the value of “justness” and is similar to what President Xi means when he advocates there should be mutual equality in the international order and why the current international order needs to be altered (Zhang, 2016a, 2016b). Unfortunately, his ideas have not been well received outside of China for a variety of reasons, one of which is the lack of accurate translation and interpretation (see Tobin, 2018, p. 155; Rolland, 2018). The majority of his ideas are, at best, translated literally, and are often perceived as being either unclear or perceived as deceptive by those outside of China.

As Yang and Yan contend, translators should never translate diplomatic languages based solely on consulting a dictionary without studying the context, political orientation, philosophical origin, and so on of the actors involved (Yang & Yan, 2016, p. 664). So, before we dive into the interpretation of Yi and its relevance to Sino-African relations, it is imperative that we establish the context in which it has been introduced. China and Africa have had a similar colonial historical experience as the famous Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China Zhou Enlai noted at the historic Bandung Asian-African Conference in 1955. ² At this historic conference, Zhou (1955) said to all the delegates: “Our voices have been suppressed, our aspirations shattered and our destiny placed in the hands of others” during the era of Western imperialism and colonial domination. This historical conference has been lauded by President Xi who has said it is important to note that China–Africa relations have not developed in one day, but have grown gradually over a long period of time and they are based on common experiences (Xinhua News, 2013) and common concerns such as the importance of sovereignty, equality, and a just international system for all (Wang, 2022).

Furthermore, the leaders of the PRC have felt obligated to defend the interests of developing nations in the international system because developing nations, particularly the African nations, have contributed significantly to how the world perceives China. For example, the support of the African countries was crucial for the recognition of the PRC to the UN (Lin & Tao, 2019). President Xi emphasized this idea by saying that China remembers “to dig a well after drinking water,” which suggests that China remembers to repay the African nations for their support. He also promised not to forget those who have advanced China–African relations and keep up the momentum of the past (Xinhua News, 2013). As a result, during his first official visit to Tanzania in March 2013, President Xi Jinping introduced the concept of ZYLG in an effort to strengthen Sino-African cooperation. President Xi Jinping also emphasized the necessity of ZYLG in October of the same year at the Peripheral Diplomacy Work Conference, stating China would establish common ground and support ZYLG as it continues to assist the developing nations (CCICED, 2013).

Also, as noted above, it was later included in The Communist Party of China’s Constitution, which was ratified during the 19th National Party Congress (China Daily, 2017; Shang, 2018). Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi has actively advocated and promoted close cooperation with most of the states of Africa, emphasizing that strengthening solidarity and cooperation with African countries is an important cornerstone of the PRC’s foreign policy (Zhang, 2016a). Recently, the Chinese President reaffirmed China’s commitment to preserve ZYLG in a statement he sent to the African Union (AU) during the 33rd AU summit in Addis Ababa in February 2020, when he said:

As the world is encountering profound changes unseen in a century, jointly building an even closer China–Africa community with a shared future is in the common interests of the Chinese and African peoples. China will continue adhering to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and ZYLG, push for a comprehensive implementation of the results of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and accelerate the two sides’ joint efforts to build the Belt and Road, so as to enable greater contribution to Africa’s development and to the benefit of both peoples. (as reported by Xinhua News, 2020).

Additionally, Wang Yi, former Chinese foreign minister, highlighted the idea in Sino-African relations. While interpreting ZYLG, in his article, which was posted on the website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entitled The Right Concept of Morality and Benefits is a Banner of China’s Diplomacy, he noted that morality—Yi—relates to morality and justice. China, he said, will prioritize morality and fairness in its interactions with African nations. And that, China would speak out for Africa’s reasonable demands and legitimate rights. The minister went further to emphasize that China will insist on equality, sincerity, friendship, and commitment with /for African nations. He referred also to the “benefits”—Li—as the mutual advantage these nations hope to achieve. He declared China would never loot the continent of Africa like the European colonizers did in the past, and will never adopt those capitalist mercantilism. Neither will China ever seek only its own interests, as some nations do, the former minister said. Going further, he stressed that with Africa, China is eager to pursue shared prosperity and growth. When necessary, he said China shall place a higher value on justice than on national interests and even sacrifice interests in favor of justice (Wang, 2014).

Toward a Discourse Reconstruction of the Principle of Yi in Sino-African Relations

Since President Xi and former foreign minister Wang Yi, among others, have stated that Yi stands for fairness, objectivity, and justness in China’s relations with Africa, other developing nations, and the world in general (Wang, 2014; Xinhua News, 2013), how has China demonstrated these principles? International relations theorists contend that nations, for self-preservation, prioritize their own interests in their relations with other states. How then can nations act fairly and justly when interacting with others? How can justice be pursued in a continent as diverse as Africa, where what is fair to one country may not be fair to another? How does China meet this challenge? How is justice manifested in Sino-African relations? These questions can be answered from two angles: China’s pursuit of justice in its relations with Africa from a global viewpoint, which we shall call Macro Justice, and China’s pursuit of justice in its relations with the individual states of Africa, which we shall call Micro Justice.

Macro Perspective on Yi in Sino-African Relations

As previously mentioned, Rawls contends justice should be a virtue of all social institutions (Rawls, 1999, p. 3), and any institution, no matter how efficient, must be reformed or abolished if unjust. This goes a long way to paint the importance of “justness.” For President Xi, ZYLG requires a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared destiny (Yang, 2014). In ancient Chinese philosophy, one of the characteristics of a noble person, according to Confucius, is that they follow Yi even when they are making profit. That is, they should be concerned their actions are just and not dwell on the profitability. In order to better understand the meaning of justice and its global significance in Sino-African discourse, it is important to look at a few situations in which China has acted justly and with due regard for the interests of the African nations. We shall also review some instances where China has placed justice and fairness over self-interest and/or encouraged others states in the international community to do this.

For a society, or in this case, the international system, to be said to be just, such a system will have to display the following attributes: respect sovereignty, equality, and fairness built upon the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect, cooperation, and so on. These are the principles that have been stressed by President Xi. And as Yang (2018) puts it, China should always follow the principle of the “five-Nos,” which are (a) no interference in the way African countries pursue their own developmental path; (b) no interference in the internal affairs of African countries; (c) no imposition of China’s will on the African countries; (d) no attachment of political strings to the assistance China provides the African nations; and (e) no seeking of selfish gains on investments and financial cooperation in the African countries. Needless to say, these principles encompass the major attributes of a just society.

With regards to Sino-African cooperation, over the years, China has paid increasing attention on cooperation with the countries in Africa. From the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation to the Belt and Road Initiative, China supports Africa to participate in and play a bigger role in international affairs. It has also stood and is standing by the African countries, by strengthening consultation and cooperation with African countries, enhancing the continent’s participation in international affairs, by safeguarding the legal rights and interests of African countries, and promoting the establishment of a democratic international relationship and a just and reasonable international political and economic order in which the developing countries can thrive.

According to Wang, China is committed to not only treating Africans as equals, but speaking up for safeguarding Africa’s “legitimate rights and reasonable demands” (Wang, 2014). This is part of the reason President Xi puts forward the concept of “A Community with Shared Future.” According to him, it is a manifestation of China’s foreign policy goals of peace, equality, development, and “win–win cooperation” (China Today, 2021; SCIO, 2017). That is to say, at the international level, China will be just in its relations with Africa, which means, it will seek a fairer world where all countries are treated equally, respected, and all parts of the world get a fair chance for achieving development.

To borrow from Confucianism yet again, it is said that justice should prevail in any conflict between Yi (justice) and Li (national interests) (Modestus, 2023). This could be said to be one of the major reasons President Xi has been insisting on a new international system that is based on equality and fairness (Xinhua News, 2021b). To illustrate this, at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi of China while addressing the assembly, stated that the international system should be concerned about the unique needs of developing nations. Especially, with a focus on tackling uneven and under-development across and within those countries, by using such tools as debt suspension and development aid, to assist developing countries, especially those that are vulnerable and experiencing extreme challenges (Xinhua News, 2021b).

Not only that, China fully implemented the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, by signing or reaching some sort of agreement with about 16 African countries on debt service suspension, and also canceled the debts of about 15 African countries in the form of interest-free government loans that were due to mature by the end of 2020, according to former foreign minister Wang Yi (Xinhua News, 2021a). This has proven that not only is China willing to be just with the African continent, but it is also willing to forgo interest when and if the need arises.

To illustrate further, China in order to portray its commitment to be just to Africa, during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only called on the international community to support Africa, but also about 15 Chinese medical emergency experts were sent to Africa and mechanism was put in place to have Chinese hospitals team up with hospitals in Africa for swift response and sharing of ideas and expertise. China also provided African countries with vaccines even though it had its own emergencies at the time and could have made huge profits by selling such vaccines to Africa or other countries. China chose fairness over profit. On the economic side, China invested over $4.2 billion in the continent in 2020 (Xinhua News, 2021a). In this case, China has and is practicing the principle of justness with regard to Africa. The author shall now attempt to analyze the presence of justice at the regional level. That is, within the African continent and with different African countries.

Micro-reconstruction of the Principle of Yi in Sino-African Relations

Regionally, China has also pledged to be just while bearing the unique diversity of the continent in mind. The author in order to interpret this draws inspiration from an ancient story about Confucius as narrated by Yang (1997, p. 539). According to Yang, Confucius was once asked by two of his disciples if they should “put into practice what they’ve learned” but he gave them two different answers; to one he said yes and to the other he said no. When asked why, he said, to the one who holds himself back it’s okay to urge him on, but to the one who has energy for two men, he needs to be held back. Such a simple ancient story, what relevance could it possibly have on practicing the principle of justice, much less to Sino-African relations?

The story above shows that Confucius, a just man by all standards, pays attention to the particularity of the situation and parties involved. Also, in Confucius’ Analects (4:10) it is written that “In his dealing with things under heaven, the noble man is not invariably for or against anything. He just does what is Yi (just, fair)” (cited in Yang, 1997, p. 521). To make it clearer, he said “Treat like cases alike and different cases differently” which serves as one of the guiding principles of justice especially with relevance to Africa. As such, in its relations with Africa, based on the diversity and uniqueness of the continent, no better guiding principle could be used than the principle of justice. Below the author shall attempt to apply the principle of justice to China’s relations with African countries regionally.

Africa is a continent with 54 distinct nations, and it is diverse in many aspects, including economic strength, political philosophy, cultural differences, and social standing, as well as religious and historical variance. Each individual African nation has a distinctive foreign policy that reflects its own reality. As a result, this affects how it interacts with other nations and continents.

Over the years, the relationship between China and Africa has advanced, and in one way or another, almost every African nation has welcomed the presence of China. China has social, cultural, and economic interests throughout the continent, with over $43.39 billion in Chinese foreign direct investment (by stock) in Africa in 2020 (Yu, 2022). Given the uniqueness of individual countries, China has created a foreign policy that recognizes this fact and treats each nation according to its own merits and needs. And just as the noble man does not always support or oppose anything, China does not always support or oppose any particular African nation. It tries to act in a just manner. As a result, adopting the principle of justice in its dealings with each African nation is a deliberate action. That is, due to the diversity of the continent, China seeks to deal with each country with fairness and justness, without favoritism nor excessive self-interest.

Why did China adopt this principle in its dealings with Africa? It is important to note the principle of justness is not just the goal of China’s foreign policy in Africa but in the world at large, hence the introduction of the idea of a “community of shared future for humanity” by president Xi (He, 2020). However, for the sake of the current study, we have limited ourselves to its relevance in Sino-African relations. The principle of justice, therefore, means that China will take the religious, historical, political, social, and economic uniqueness of the continent into consideration in its dealing with the continent. For instance, the recent trip of the Chinese foreign minister to Africa emphasizes this point. Qin Gang’s recent visit to five strategic African countries during his seven days trip to the continent speaks of China’s awareness of the uniqueness of the continent and takes it seriously in its relations (Wang, 2023).

For instance, his visit covers the five major regions of the continent which are East Africa (Ethiopia), West Africa (Benin), South Africa (Angola), North Africa (Egypt), and Central Africa (Gabon). These countries cover both the Muslim-dominated regions and the Christian-dominated regions, and the languages include Arabic (Egypt), English (Ethiopia), French (Benin, Gabon), Portuguese (Angola), and many indigenous African languages. It’s important to state here that most of those counties have a reasonable size of their population that can speak more than one language. Another perspective to look at it is the national size and economic power of these countries. There are both big and small countries, economically advanced, and advancing countries within the African rating.

To further drive home the point, in response to the COVID-19, “China has been, and is, providing vaccines to over 30 African countries on the basis of their urgent need” (Xinhua News, 2021a). The provision of vaccines has been based on who has the most urgent needs, and not based on which country is China’s favorite or the biggest or richest.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that China’s relations with Africa and indeed the world are guided by the principle of justice. China has and continues to emphasize fairness in both its macro- and micro-relations in Africa. Thus, the principle of Yi or justice can and should be used as a framework or criterion to analyze and evaluate Sino-African relations. This emphasis on Yi can serve as a useful framework for future research on not just Sino-African relations but China’s international relations at large. With regard to Sino-African cooperation, as portrayed above, not only has this principle been applied in its international and regional interaction with the continent, but it has also been emphasized in all of its communications and dealings with countries in the world at large. Clearly, China’s leaders want the world to know it desires a fair and just world; and we can say that the principle of justice is therefore a fundamental goal of China’s foreign policy.

Conclusion

By reconstructing the interpretation of justice with relevance to China–African relations, this article seeks to draw the attention of scholars, diplomatic analysts, and international relations experts to a vital but largely ignored aspect of Sino-African relations. The proper translation and interpretation of Chinese diplomatic discourse is needed to promote understanding. And, it is important to offer an interpretation that is not just understandable but culturally relevant.

Since diplomatic communication carries the political and ideological stance of the country, and in this instance, Yi carries not only ancient Chinese philosophical ideas but also carries in it the guiding principle of Chinese foreign policy toward Africa, it is absolutely necessary to offer an interpretation of this concept which is understandable and relevant to the African people and their leaders. As such, the current article not only seeks to offer an accurate interpretation of the concept in English but also draws attention to its relevance in Sino-African relations both at the macro- and micro-levels/audiences.

The principle of Yi can be used as a framework to analyze Sino-African relations from an economic, social, political, cultural, and/or diplomatic perspective. Since many observers have questioned the nature of China’s relationship with the continent, the analysis and evaluation of Sino-African relations using the Chinese principle of justice can be used to answer this and many more questions about Sino-African relations. Justice is the guiding principle of China’s foreign policy toward the international community, and especially towards Africa, and its foreign policy can be judged on the basis of the Chinese principle of Yi.