China: The New Colonial Power in Africa ?

It was 599 years ago that Admiral Zheng - in a show of Chinese power - sailed down the east coast of Africa. The year was 1414, and he took home with him - a giraffe. Today, China is more interested in oil and gas off the cost of Mozambique and Tanzania, and it has been welcomed with open arms, as it lavishes it wealth across the continent. Can there be partnership without plundering? Is China a new colonial power, or just misunderstood?