China has now taken Great Britain’s place as Africa’s third largest business partner. Where others only see chaos, the Chinese see opportunities. With no colonial past and no political preconditions, China is bringing investment and needed infrastructure to a continent that has been largely ignored by Western companies or nations.

Traveling from Beijing to Khartoum, Algiers to Brazzaville, the authors tell the story of China’s economic ventures in Africa. What they find is tantamount to a geopolitical earthquake: The possibility that China will help Africa direct its own fate and finally bring light to the so-called “dark continent,” making it a force to be reckoned with internationally.

Serge Michele is West Africa correspondent for the French newspaper Le Monde.

Michel Beuret is Foreign Editor of the prominent Swiss magazine l’Hebdo.

Paolo Woods is an award-winning photojournalist. His photographs have appeared in Time, Newsweek, Stern, Le Monde, Geo, and many other international publications.