I would not attribute absolute altruism to the West or deny that Chinese development projects have done some real good in Africa and for Africans.
What all of this says is that the creation of a more civilized world order is a long term project, and that the way to deal with the Chinese is not by hyperventilation but by pursuing efforts to help them see the advantage of integration into a mutually beneficial system, and, at the same time, cooperating with them when we have common interests while competing vigorously in areas where our interests diverge—for example, in access to energy resources.
I do believe there will be progress. The pressure brought on them by people like Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg over the Olympics apparently led to their doing more (if not enough) over Darfur. This shows that when it can be couched in terms of their interests, the Chinese can be brought into a more positive role on such issues.
