Western colonialism happened pretty much among the same lines. Start as law-abiding traders, get pissed off by some local lord, build a fort, train a local army

Western colonialism happened pretty much among the same lines. Start as law-abiding traders, get pissed off by some local lord, build a fort, train a local army. Local army is better supplied and trained than local lords army, so now you engage in military games (either protection or outright conquest). Certainly I don't see this happening in any of the African countries. What China can do is what most Western countries do today to get debtor countries in line: refuse access to credit, or increase the interest rates on future loans. I'm interested to see if China plays regime-changing games that the US and (then) Soviet Union did when its interests were under threat. So far, it doesn't seem to be employing that strategy, but I wonder if they will...