African studies are gaining promi-nence in China, as the country forgescloser ties with Africa. At the end oflast year, the Shanghai Institutes forInternational Studies (SIIS), one of theleading think-tanks in China, issued astrategic report on China-Africa rela-tions and submitted it to China"s topleadership. Beijing Review reporter Liu Wei spoke toLi Weijian, Director of the Department of West Asianand African Studies at SIIS, who headed the strate-gic report project, on the evolving relations betweenChina and Africa。