Uganda, Jan. 27 -- Talk of renewed scrambling and jostling for a piece of the African continent has been around for a while in the media, academia and policy debates. What exactly is new in the scramble? What is the scramble for? Who are the new actors?

In the final analysis, it comes down to the last question - the actors. China is the obvious new major actor that has sent tongues wagging, especially in the West. China's rise and sprawling influence, powered by its sheer and imposing economic presence, has unsettled traditional Western powers and fuelled a great deal of anxiety precisely because of China's perceived disruption to the extant balance of power.

In Europe and the United States, China is a handy bogeyman for politicians par...