WI: African china

how could you have an African equivalent of china, meaning a relatively continuous, large literate culture that survived into modernity and what would be the effects.

Doesn't Ethiopia count? It has a continuous history of literacy for 2000+ years, and for the most part avoided formal European colonization. It is sub-Saharan Africa's few European/Asian-style nation-states. And ironically its current system of governance is uncannily similar to China's.

Alternatively could a Sahel-based empire fit the bill, stretching far and wide east to west? Ghana, Mali, and Songhai would be the beginning of it, over enough time is it possible they could be seen as different 'dynasties' of a single nation, just as many of the Chinese dynasties were themselves very disparate nations but still labeled 'Chinese' later on by historians?

a not quite as politically isolated Ethiopia/Nubia could easily end up as this

It's pretty hard for Africa to get the population base of China due to the poor quality of African soil, and the lack of crops suited for such a climate.

Iudeus Rex britannicus said:

how could you have an African equivalent of china, meaning a relatively continuous, large literate culture that survived into modernity and what would be the effects.

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Having an earlier large-scale Trans-Saharan trade might do that. Alternately, if you could have Songhai survive against the Moroccan invasion then they might be able to survive for a longer time. The effects would be the spread of their culture and script that might in turn stimulate other nations to form. A more "advanced" Africa in the end.