The physical presence of Chinese migrants in African countries and of African migrants on Chinese soil is increasingly visible as economic and political relations between China and the African continent have accelerated in recent years. Whilst academic literature on the Chinese diaspora in Africa is steadily expanding; the specificities of the African migrants in China remains largely unknown. However, migratory flows from Africa to China are stepping up. These migration patterns are for the most part circular; yet a trend towards longer settlement can be discerned. This project will seek to examine the role the recent and more settled African migrants in Hong Kong can or could play in the social and economic development of their countries of origin. In the past decade, migration and development issues have gained prominence; and several proposals to maximize the perceived benefits of migration for development have been considered in academic and political circles. In this work, it will be argued that the complexities of contemporary migratory movements cannot be comprehended within the framework of a neo-liberal understanding of development. Rather, development is understood as social changes that migration impacts to various extents. Bearing in mind this definition of development, it will be concluded that the emerging African community of Hong Kong clearly contributes to the development of their countries of origin. Although African migrants are not in a position to influence larger economic processes; local development impacts are felt thanks to their presence. Their experience is also reshaping migration patterns in their countries of origin; migration networks are in the process of being created and prospective migrants are encouraged to move eastward to seize real economic possibilities. The questions connected to the African community of Hong Kong cannot be dissociated from the wider issues at stake within the Sino-African partnership. The presence, expansion and dynamics observed within the African migrant population are largely shaped by the evolutions of the Sino-African economic and political partnership. In that respect, Chinese intervention threatens to reduce African migrants to the unattractive figure of the irregular, unwanted and useless alien. However, the energy of the China-based African population is far removed from the clichés of the assisted African belonging to a devastated Black continent; in that respect African migrants to China are able to project a positive image of successful migration.