"Several indications emerging from fieldwork may give the impression that the Chinese State ? which is perceived as being not only highly centralized but also endowed with astronomical amounts of foreign currency reserves and legions of workers ? is pursuing a precise and methodical strategy in Africa. It is nevertheless too early to state as much. Firstly, it is hard to establish whether this kind of plan exists, given the Chinese authorities and business community's lack of transparency, as well as the multiplicity of ongoing actions that are geographically disparate, and across all sectors. Yet other clues provide evidence of a lack of preparedness in Africa by China; of its clumsiness and of a movement that is much less well-integrated than the macroeconomic indicators would have us believe. And, already, the setbacks have begun to pile up."