The most lavish party that China has thrown in more than 50 years got under way on Friday night with high-pitched Peking opera, rhythmic African drumming and a gravity-defying display of acrobatics in the Great Hall of the People.

This was a display of power as much as entertainment - the unique spectacle of a nation hosting a continent. The guest list for the opening banquet included almost every head of state in Africa, representing a quarter of the votes in the United Nations, a sizeable chunk of the world's natural resources and, combined with the hosts, a third of the planet's people.

Shrugging aside Western concerns, Beijing extended the welcome to leaders vilified in the West, such as Sudan's president, Omar al- Bashir, and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, both of whom were given the red carpet treatment. For others, including Egypt, nuclear exchanges were on the table.

Outside, a million people were mobilised to ensure tight security, smooth transport and a convivial atmosphere. The city's streets - notorious for traffic - were miraculously clear after hundreds of thousands of drivers were ordered to keep their cars off the road. Trees were festooned with fairy lights and giant balloons bobbed on their cables in the unusually clear air.

No expense has been spared. Advertising has been stripped off billboards and replaced with giant pictures of giraffes, lions and elephants roaming the savannah. The walls around building sites have been decorated with posters of tribesmen, antelopes and the pyramids. Wanfujing, Beijing's main shopping street, is a safari-land of wooden animals. Everywhere, posters proclaim: "Africa, the Land of Myth and Miracles."

But it is hard cash rather than soft soap that brings 40 heads of state, eight political leaders and hundreds of business people to Beijing for the three-day China-Africa forum. Dipping into the world's largest foreign currency reserve of $1 trillion (Bt36.7 trillion), China is expected to display its largesse with offers of so much aid and trade that it will soon eclipse the US and Europe as the dominant foreign economy in Africa.

Deals in oil, copper, telecommunications, transport and possibly nuclear power will be discussed around the periphery of the summit, which includes a trade fair and meetings by 1,500 business executives.

Everyone agrees the potential is huge. China's trade with Africa has increased five-fold since 2000 to $50 billion. The figure is expected to double again by 2010, by which time China will have far surpassed the US and France as the major player in the region. But this super-summit is about more than a single continent. It marks a new stage in China's re-emergence as a superpower.

Formerly reticent about appearing on the world stage, Beijing has gone into diplomatic overdrive this year and appears to be outmanoeuvring a US administration distracted and discredited by Iraq. In June Shanghai hosted leaders of countries representing more than half the world's population. Last month Chinese emissaries played a crucial role in forcing North Korea back to negotiations after its nuclear test.

But it has never attempted anything on the scale of the African cooperation forum. Perhaps no nation has. Wenran Jiang, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, said the event signalled a shift in the global balance of power.

"Which major power could pull something off on this scale? The UK has influence in the Commonwealth, but this is far different. We are talking about an emerging world power that has the mobilising power to gather 48 out of the 53 heads of state in Africa. I don't see any parallel in history. The US never did this, nor did Russia. Symbolically this is a very, very big event."

Even China's gifts of hospitals and stadiums to Africa at a time when Mao Zedong was proclaiming himself champion of non-aligned developing nations pale in comparison with today's mega-projects. According to the World Bank, China is poised to become the continent's biggest lender, having pledged more than $8 billion this year alone.

The biggest deals have been energy-related. Squeezed out of much of the Middle East by the United States, China now gets a third of its oil from Africa. The main suppliers have reaped the rewards. Angola has a $3-billion line of credit from China. Nigeria recently sold a stake in an oil and gas field for $2.3 billion - China's largest overseas acquisition yet. More deals are on the way. This weekend's summit is expected to wrap up with a new package of aid and trade. But China is not just buying resources, it is selling a model of development. While the West focuses on political freedoms and universal rights, Beijing says the priority should be on improving living standards and national independence.

African leaders are queuing up to sign new deals. Their eagerness to shake hands with President Hu Jintao has drawn comparison to the states that once came to pay tribute to the emperor.

Back in Africa there are a few dissenting voices, complaining that China is a pursuing a neo-colonialist policy, buying up cheap resources and selling higher-priced manufactured goods. But no such critical voices were to be heard among the VIP guests in Beijing.

But the growing influence of China has provoked unease among an unlikely coalition of US conservatives and global human rights groups. The World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, said this week that Chinese banks ignored human rights and environmental standards when lending in Africa. Amnesty accuses Beijing of selling tanks and fighter aircraft to Sudan, where it says they have been used to commit massive violations of human rights in Darfur. China has also blocked UN sanctions against Sudan. It insists that it will not "interfere in other countries' domestic affairs, but also claims to be great friend of the African people and a responsible major power", said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. "But that doesn't square with staying silent while mass killings go on in Darfur."

However, Chinese academics say that the West is hypocritical, having long exploited Africa for resources and given little in return, except lectures. "The big difference is that China does not attach political strings," said Liu Naiya of the Chinese Academy of Social Science.

Jonathan Watts

The Guardian

Beijing