China Raises Profile in Africa

China is increasing the number of UN peackekeepers it sends to Africa and raising its profile on the continent, creating a kind of "peace corps" to address problems from job shortages to health care, the Christian Science Monitor reports. China, itself a developing nation, appears determined to both do good and do well in large and small ways.

Since 2000 China has canceled more than $10 billion in debt for 31 African countries and has given $5.5 billion in aid; as a lender, it tops the World Bank. And it's dispatching volunteers to build roads and clinics and to help staff after-school programs. The nation "is desperate to be seen as a benign force," said one economist.