As far as I'm aware, China has been giving loans to various countries in Africa and building infrastructure in exchange for money and maybe some stuff like recognizing Taiwan as part of China. But why do people say China is imperialist for doing this? Is there truth to it or is it another strain of radlibs eating state department propaganda?
To me, imperialism is when one government tries to increase its own power and influence, usually by getting control over countries (be it outright or with regards to certain policies).
Ok, but that's literally all governments. Not even just every state - every polity has a stake in strengthening itself. That doesn't seem like a very useful definition.
I didn't word it very well initially. Namely, I updated the comment to include that another part of it getting control of other countries.