One of the main features of China's relations with Africa is the overriding importance of the trade in African commodities exported to China to fuel its economic growth. China's push into Africa is driven by its need for access to raw materials, which has spawned a growing flurry of diplomatic and economic relations over the past few years. Africa has enabled China to diversify its sources of the raw materials needed to buttress its economic boom, and thus to acquire a greater independence of supply. However, these Sino-African oil ties cannot be reduced to a mere trade partnership. The strength of this relationship is built around a wider strategic vision developed by the Chinese to consolidate access to resources, which analysts term the "going-out" policy.