Abstract: Conventional studies of Chinese aid to Africa typically neglect China’s six decades of donor experience, and de-emphasize the distinct historical relationships that China holds with African countries and the ideological and geopolitical contexts in which these relations were built. Applying the framework of relationality that highlights the role of social relationships in defining rational actions, I provide an alternative perspective on Chinese aid by analyzing the ideological and Cold War dynamics that shaped China’s early Mao era aid allocation and the impact of these initial ties on contemporary Chinese policymakers’ choices about where to direct Chinese aid.