Search

This paper applies Marcel Mauss' Gift Theory in conjunction with Qin Yaqing's Relational Theory to Chinese foreign aid. It proposed that this approach allows to conceptualise Chinese aid to Africa as a continuous gift cycle initiated in Bandung and has been going uninterrupted till today. The paper argues through the language of reciprocity and relationality, China symbolically affords the recipient status in a way that Northern aid does not. The real existing power asymmetries between China and Africa do not per se translate into unlimited influence as China can never be sure of reciprocity and is obliged to keep giving continuously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper reports on the impact of China's Community of Shared Destiny Policy (CCSDP) on ethnicity, and the development and trade benefits in Africa, whilst proposing suggestions for improvements. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-research (desktop-based and online survey-based) approach was employed. Findings: Trade and foreign direct investment alone can account for 11.8% of changes in the peaceful coexistence of China and some selected African countries, and cause changes to the mutual prosperity of China and African nations, to the tune of 6.3%. Therefore, the activation of mutual prosperity among these nations is not necessarily trade and foreign direct investment. The CCSDP is effective and has increased economic development for ethnic groups (50%), although with some negative concerns. Research limitations/implications: Inadequate/small sample size for the study. Originality/value: Chinese investment in Africa has had a transformative impact, driving economic growth, improving infrastructure, and fostering regional integration. The share of trade between China and Africa in the continent's overall external trade has increased dramatically. Overall, the CCSDP should be kept in place, but with some modifications to improve its effectiveness and mitigate its negative effects. Finally, as China's engagement with Africa evolves, it is vital that partnerships are founded on mutual understanding, respect, and benefit, and that policies reflect the different needs and ambitions of African communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa possesses extremely rich renewable energy resources, including solar energy and wind energy, in spite of this, South Africa traditionally relies on coal as its primary energy source. Recently, South Africa confronted with severe electricity shortage. With pressure of power shortage and the transition to low- carbon energy, South Africa has been actively promoting the development of renewable energy, aiming to diversify its energy structure. China, as the world's leading country in the development and utilization of renewable energy, has long been committed to helping South Africa achieve renewable energy development. This article reviews the cooperation progress between China and South Africa in renewable energy, and provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges currently faced by both sides. To address such challenges, it is suggested to strengthen the design of top-level cooperation mechanisms, create diverse collaboration platforms, prioritize the exchange and collaboration of scientific talents. This paper aims to provide a typical reference for deepening renewable energy cooperation between China and South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Term limit changes are significantly linked to political instability in Africa. Yet, it is ignored as an issue in the trilateral cooperation between European Union (EU), China and Africa. Indeed, a central question that could face both the EU and China over term limits in Africa is the extent to which it is legitimate for them to take action against attempts to violate term limits. This paper is an attempt to consider joint EU and China influence on African politics from the perspective of term limits. Why and how have/should EU and China respond to term limits? How can a trilateral cooperation between EU, China and Africa help institutionalize the respect of term limits? With the help of qualitative and quantitative data from official communiqués, events, and reports, the paper considers term limits as major political issue EU, China and Africa must care about given that it is a major factor of State fragility and political instability. It finds that a grounded trilateral policy framework on term limits is not only possible in an EU-China-Africa cooperation, but can strengthen democratic institutions in the continent and reflect the genuine commitment of the EU and China to promote sustainable democracy and political stability in Africa. If the EU and China want sustainable development of Africa, then the issue of presidential term limits must be significantly addressed within a trilateral cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of host country corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to developing countries in Africa. With the opposing arguments that corruption is detrimental to or instrumental in FDI and mixed empirical evidence, this paper contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the issue. Additionally, little research has been done on the impact of corruption on FDI made by developing country multinationals to developing countries. This paper fills a void in this area. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the published literature, as well as China and Africa contexts, the authors develop hypotheses that host countries with low corruption receive more FDI and resource-seeking investments weaken the relationship. The annual stock of Chinese FDI in 35 African countries, host country corruption data and other control variables from 2007 to 2015 are collected. Feasible generalized least squares models are used to test the hypotheses. Additional robustness tests are also conducted. Findings: The findings support the hypotheses. Specifically, Chinese investors make more investments in host countries with low corruption except for resource-seeking investments in resource-rich host counties. The results are statistically significant accounting for various control variables. The results of the robustness tests show that the main findings are robust. Originality/value: First, this study provides new evidence on the impact of corruption on FDI. Second, this study also fills a void by examining FDI from a developing country, China to other developing countries in Africa. Finally, this study also has a practical implication for Chinese multinationals investing in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptualisation of voice in the majority world (developing and emerging economies) should avoid simply using the lens of the minority world (advanced economies). Yet, both can benefit from taking a multidisciplinary approach. Marchington was one of the early pioneers of multidisciplinary work on voice in advanced economies. While being fundamentally an industrial relations (IR) scholar who was alert to the influence of power and context, he took a pluralist approach in applying IR ideas to Human Resource Management, exploring empirically why and how workers use voice. This paper is inspired by Marchington's multidisciplinary approach but considers voice within different institutional contexts. Our key research question is, 'How can majority world conceptions of employee voice enrich our understanding of what voice is for, its outcomes and whom it serves?' Through interrogating how different intellectual traditions have underpinned work in the majority world (exemplified by South Africa and China) we highlight the need for further theoretical development of the concept of lateral voice and argue that voice should be more closely linked to forms of resistance. Our concluding section uses this analysis to start the re‐imagining of voice in minority and majority world contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present a Mixed Integrative Heuristic Approach (MIHA) for image studies based on textual content (media news) analysis. MIHA was developed during an exploratory study on the image of China and the Chinese in Zambia and Angola. The analyzed database was relatively small (2477 articles), and the material was very heterogeneous, because of the wide scope of topics covered by the texts and the fact that we analyzed content from both English- and Portuguese-language media. To obtain the best possible results, we decided to employ the mixed methods approach for a bottom-up created dictionary, and to design a set of sentiment indexes based on both automatic and manual coding. This paper focuses on the two most important steps of the method development: dictionary building and sentiment indexes design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands upon a hitherto underexplored finding by Rich and Banerjee's 2015 model which finds that Taiwan has done comparatively better with non-democracies in Africa. The paper proposes that democratisation makes an African state more responsive to domestic economic imperatives and thus more likely to form relations with the demographically and economically larger People's Republic of China because of the prospective trade, aid and investment gains to be made once such a switch is affected. Seven case studies conducted over the 2001–2018 period yield results which are in line with this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores China's African public relations and image‐building effort, focusing on Nigeria. Thus, the paper's purpose is twofold: first, to investigate whether China's conduct of public diplomacy through its soft power resource—development assistance—has effectively shaped positive Nigerian public perception of China, and second, to determine the media's role in advancing China's public diplomacy in Nigeria. Specifically, it explores the interaction of economic development assistance, media, and public relations. I do this by comparing China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria (2010–2019) with the public's perception of the FDI's influence on the Nigerian economy (2016 and 2020) and the media's role in shaping public support toward the investments. Utilizing a range of datasets, I find that Chinese economic investment alone is insufficient to substantially shape positive Nigerian public perception of China. Within a framework of mediated public diplomacy, I demonstrate that the Chinese image‐building effort in Nigeria would likely enhance when the country links economic investments with public relations to make the investments more visible through effective media representation. Related Articles: Ayhan, Kadir Jun, and Nancy Snow. 2021. "Introduction to the Special Issue—Global Korea Scholarship: Empirical Evaluation of a Non‐Western Scholarship Program from a Public Diplomacy Perspective." Politics & Policy 49(6): 1282–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12440. Hodzi, Obert, and John H. S. Åberg. 2020. "Introduction to the Special Issue: Strategic Deployment of the China Model in Africa." Politics & Policy 48(5): 804–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12378. Huijgh, Ellen. 2017. "Indonesia's 'Intermestic' Public Diplomacy: Features and Future." Politics & Policy 45(5): 762–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12221. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines depictions of Africans in China during the period when China moved to establish diplomatic relations across the African continent – the foundation of what would become Africa–China relations today. Chinese posters were early forms of mass visual interaction with (the image of) foreign nationals. They reflect how Chinese society viewed itself in relation to others as it developed a global awareness through domestic mobilization. This study investigates how Africa and Africans are depicted in Chinese posters and how they shaped and/or reflected discourses of the period. It also examines motivations behind the inclusion of Africans in Chinese posters, arguing that this largely had a domestic rationale. By historicizing the meaning-making process of the image of Africa in 20th-century Chinese posters, this paper demonstrates that Chinese posters informed public opinion by defining friend and foe, focused more on China and her Cold War entanglements than on Africa, and simultaneously challenged and reinforced some widely held stereotypes about the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a discourse analysis of Chinese tourist writings about Africa on the most popular Chinese online tourist forum, Mafengwo (hornet's nest). By examining 2,950 travelogues collected online, our research finds that Chinese tourists' conceptions of Africa are mainly built through 5 frames, including the exotic frame, the adventurous frame, the poverty frame, the China's engagement frame, and the affection frame that describe Africa as a remote, exotic, adventurous, dangerous, miserable, and backward place compared to a modern China that strongly supports Africa's development. Much tourist writing corresponds with the official Chinese geopolitical narrative of China-Africa relations that perceives China itself as a peacefully rising power who would also like to help developing others like Africa. However, we also find that some Chinese tourists' descriptions of Africa fit uneasily into the official Chinese geopolitical conceptions, in which they demonstrate affection for Africa, but only in regard to its Western aspects, e.g., architecture, food, activities. One contribution of this study is providing a bottom-up Chinese citizenry discourses and cultural experiences of Africa, and with this empirical analysis it updates theories of everyday Chinese geopolitics of tourism. We think this study is unique in that we have broadened the understanding of both official and citizenry Chinese geopolitical conceptions and their (dis)connections, in particular from the everyday encounter between geopolitics and tourism, which also sets a frame for comprehending Chinese citizenry geopolitical conceptions of the outside 'other'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China–Africa relationship has received increased interest over the past few decades as scholars critically examine the challenge that China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, poses to the norms governing the neoliberal world order (NLWO). One crucial aspect of this is international aid, and how Chinese aid to Africa differs from Western aid. This paper argues that Chinese aid reduces the power of traditional aid donors to shape the development route of African countries. This new development finance ultimately breaks the monopoly of Western aid to decide how poor countries in the global 'South' develop. In doing so, the Sino–African aid relationship is challenging the current world order as it offers African states the possibility to decouple (or delink) themselves from the global economy. By challenging assumed neoliberal economic development fundamentals, this relationship, if harnessed correctly by African leaders, can pose longer-term ideological questions around the very set of ideas that underpin development itself, while enabling African states the policy space needed to pursue more sustainable development from an Afro-centric perspective. It is this possibility to delink, due to changing ideological fundamentals concerning economic development, that is the challenge China and Africa pose to the NLWO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-run relationships and structural breaks have often been confused so that many investigators ignore the structural breaks in long-run stock price relationships. In this paper, we investigate the long-run relationships among stock prices in BRICS countries in a bivariate framework. We used a non-linear threshold cointegration test, which endogenously incorporates possible regime shift behaviors into the long-run relationships from 2004 to 2018. The Johansen cointegration test, the Gregory and Hansen cointegration test, and the Hatemi-J regime shift cointegration test, which allow for single and double structural breaks, were used. The principal finding of this paper confirms the presence of cointegration among the BRICS stock markets with two endogenous structural breaks. The study confirms that ignoring the presence of structural breaks in long-run series data can produce ambiguous results. It also confirms the absence of cointegration among these stock markets (Brazil and China, India and China, and China and South Africa) after two endogenous structural breaks. These empirical findings support conjecture on more than just the changes in the relationships between the BRICS stock markets. The disintegrated markets suggest the absence of arbitrage activity and vice versa. Thus, disintegrated markets mean that investors can obtain long-term gains through international portfolio diversification. While the benefit of the diversification is very limited in the long run, it is unlikely to be eliminated in practice. Hence, there is a possibility of obtaining an unusual profit in such a market, and consequently the assumptions of market efficiency could also be violated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese imports replace locally manufactured products in developing countries. The import of consumer goods from China to West Africa is closely linked to commercial travel, and China's border restrictions during the Covid outbreak put a near-halt to such travelling. Furthermore, the pandemic caused a global logistics crisis that disrupted supply chains with production in China. This paper asks whether Ghanaian manufacturers and artisanal producers could take advantage of these disruptions to enhance their competitive position. Did China's border closure provide space for local Ghanaian producers to thrive? We address this question by drawing on data collected among Ghanaian plastic manufacturers and furniture makers, who have faced tough competition from Chinese imports. Our analysis shows that supply chain disruptions from China led to the substitution of certain products previously imported from China, and these effects were partially sustained after the Covid-induced barriers to imports from China were removed. However, the disruptions were also costly for many Ghanaian producers, as they depended on Chinese intermediary products, tools, and other inputs. This illustrates how economic lives in Ghana and China have become so profoundly intertwined that indiscriminate decoupling is neither possible nor desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conceptualises the geosocial by examining the transnational connections of African student migrants and their educational experiences in Chinese cities. While there is now an established scholarship on Chinese migration to Africa, new research on the concurrent flow of African migration to China is emerging. Recent publications on African migrants in China tend to focus on the experiences of African traders, drawing out issues of illegality, ‘low-end’ globalisation and their impacts on Chinese trading cities. In comparison, this paper shifts the analytical lens to African educational migration in Chinese cities, foregrounding how global householding patterns reflect and leverage on the geopolitical and geo-economic dimensions of China-Africa relations. The paper shows that individual and family goals are negotiated through educational migration that, on the one hand, is concerned with accumulating human and cultural capital through a learning stint in Chinese cities, and on the other hand, is framed by perceptions of China-Africa relations. The paper argues that through educational migration, transnational social reproduction links Africa with China, but the social differentiation and everyday sociality that the African students experience in Chinese cities reinforce racial coding and development asymmetries. In so doing, the paper draws out how the geosocial reflects and constitutes the geopolitical and geo-economic dimensions of transnationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is divided into three sections. First, it evaluates Professor Ian Taylor’s characteristic approach to the study of China–Africa relations, as showcased in one of his articles. Then, it brings attention to Ian Taylor’s engagement with China since 2009, with a special focus on his non-typical approach to China Studies. Finally, it deals with Ian Taylor’s unfinished project on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China–India relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China–Africa relations have been a topic of huge interest in international relations, as well as the subject of wide scepticism and criticism. Drummond and Liu (2013) observe that more than half of sub-Saharan African countries have a trade deficit with China and that China remains a dominant actor in China–Africa relations. However, is this so? Are African states mere spectators in China–Africa relations or do they also have a strategy to gain something from the engagement? This study examines the role that African agency plays in Sino-African relations under the FOCAC framework. It highlights the main features of Sino-African relations and specifically assesses why China is important to African states. It examines FOCAC objectives for Africa, FOCAC conferences, the decisions adopted and their impact on Sino-African relations. The paper offers recommendations that will allow African states to better leverage their relations with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the examination of research pertaining to the historical establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries, intersecting with the domain of historical digitization, focusing on the fusion of oral history and the digital preservation of historical documents. After underscoring the significance of investigating the history of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African nations, the study conducts a literature review, delving into the status quo of historical digitization research in both Chinese and African academies with both sides' current study on each other's history and Sino-African relations, thereby furnishing a robust technical and scholarly groundwork for this research. Afterward, the article deliberates upon the prospects and challenges intrinsic to digitizing the history surrounding the initiation of diplomatic relations between China and Africa. Conclusively, the article proffers recommendations aimed at catalyzing the digitization trajectory of this historical narrative, spanning two tiers, including the official multilateral cooperation mechanism and collaborative endeavors involving private academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the institutional structures and other predictors that determine bilateral trade between Africa and China from 1995 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach: In line with the gravity model of trade, institutional, geographical and socio-economic determinants of China's bilateral trade with 18 African oil/minerals exporting countries are examined by deploying Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood and dynamic bias-corrected least squares dummy variable econometric techniques. Findings: The results indicate that China's oil/minerals imports from Africa are higher than imports of manufacturing and agricultural goods, and institutional structures indicate that a weak politically stable region with less control of corruption has a discernible effect on trade. Research limitations/implications: Further insight can be gained if the type of manufactured goods being exported to China is examined; this is necessary given that China crowds out Africa's manufactured goods. Therefore, this study recommends the need for Africa to continually strengthen its institutional structures to stimulate trade from other regions. Originality/value: This study examines the quality of the institutional structures (political stability and corruption) in African oil/minerals exporting countries, considering that China has been alleged for capitalising on Africa's weak institutional structures to trade with the resource-endowed region. For the first time, the UN COMTRADE HS product-country-partner-year trade data is used to examine on bilateral sector trade China–Africa links rather than proxies used in the studies of Biggeri and Sanfilippo (2009), De Grauwe et al. (2012) and Foad (2011) that did not capture the real trade value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines China's geo-economic interest in Africa. China intends to exercise its leverage over both coastal frontiers for trade and defense and its hinterland for rich mineral, metal, and fossil deposits. Furthermore, the debt trap seems to be one of the methods through which China intended to bargain with Africa to bag as much advantage as it could gain. The question that emerges from this critical engagement with China-Africa relations is to look into how the reality of Africa's narrative of development is projected both from outside and within and the contradiction embodied in that projection. China used the narrative of development to set its feet on African soil. This paper discusses China's penetration into Africa by offering interest-free loans and its gradual emergence as a neocolonial power through expanding its network. The method used in the study to establish China's monopoly and interfering streak in African affairs through BRI is the analysis of available data based on which the objectives and the conclusions are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the political implications of China's economic relationship with Africa using the case study of Sino-Nigerian economic relations. China – perhaps the most prominent rising economy of the contemporary era – and Nigeria – one of the Africa's largest economies with a fast-growing consumer population – provide an ideal context to study the economic significance of bilateral ties for the 'Global South.' Nigeria's prospects of sustained economic growth, through Sino diplomatic relations, could appear relatively bleak considering issues involving its growing debt burden, unequal trade composition and deteriorating governance standards, some of which are attributable to China. This paper explores both sides of the argument before concluding that certain political aspects of Sino-Nigerian bilateral relations do indeed undermine sustainable economic development in the long run. It is argued that unequal economic practices, lack of transparency, disregard for environmental concerns, exclusion of civil society and absence of serious engagement with wider social actors and other checks and balances could indeed nurture elements of rentierism across Africa – particularly in resource-rich countries like Nigeria leaving significant detrimental effects that could well outweigh short-term gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines China's engagement with Africa through economic zones (EZs). It moves beyond the conceptualisation of EZs as undifferentiated enclaves of foreign investment to a dynamic perspective on the locally negotiated process of zone development. Such a perspective entails critical unpacking of the specific zone regime to understand the diverse and evolving relationships among different state and non-state actors. Drawing upon empirical research on the Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ) in Ethiopia, we explore the complex process of learning and adaptation by government, developers, investors, and workers throughout the development of a zone regime, with specific attention to capital–labour and expatriate–local relations. We find that despite the EIZ being a state-level cooperation project, private Chinese developers work diligently with the Ethiopian government to improve the institutional support for EZs. Chinese investors also collectively generate a management regime to enhance their overseas operational capacity and experiment with various tactics to transform local recruits into an industrial workforce. Local workers, with limited protection by official labour unions, turn to individual- and group-based agency to improve their working conditions. Despite the momentum created by multiple stakeholders, there are concerns regarding the long-term contributions of EZs to engender sustained industrial transformation and skills development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article combines automated scraping of Weibo data and a critical discourse analysis to examine the ways in which online anti-African sentiments produce and amplify the interrelations of racial stigma, sexism and homophobia, as well as misinformation about infectious disease on Chinese social media. The paper finds that three nodal points strongly unite the online anti-African discourse: one, 'unrestrained and promiscuous' African men are carrying the viruses (such as AIDS and/or COVID-19); two, 'unchaste' Chinese women (and occasionally gay men) are receiving the virus; three, there is unidirectional transmission of these viruses from Africans to Chinese. Further, our research findings point to complicated and ambiguous relations between online racist sentiments, state censorship, and China-Africa relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the place of non-economic drivers in China–Africa relations. While existing studies are hinged on economic relations between Beijing and the continent, this study focuses on non-economic aspects that underlie Africa's relations with China. Taking the soft power approach, the paper illuminates on the salience of attractiveness in international politics and interrogates sources of China's attractiveness in the continent and compares China's actions with those of traditional actors for broader empirical coverage and methodological rigour. The authors argue that while economic drivers are an important basis for understanding China–Africa relations, several fundamental features beyond the economic relations supplement the growing relations between Beijing and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we juxtapose two different sectors of China's economic presence in Africa: transport and digital infrastructure. Using the case of Kenya, a country that hosts several flagship corridors funded by Chinese loans and where Chinese "digital champions" have been active for two decades, we highlight some of the differences and similarities between these two forms of China's going-out capitalism in the continent. Our argument is that these 'varieties of capital' are conterminous, and they operate through both strategic and contingent overlaps within the same 'state-market nexus' and at the interface with programmes and goals of the African 'infrastructure state'. To illustrate this point, we draw on a comparative research effort inspired by a growing body of scholarship that has been labelled under the tag of 'Global China' and by a political economy reading of 'the market-in-state' system. This paper thus contributes empirically and conceptually to de-essentializing the Chinese presence in the African continent by recognizing the contextual agencies that shape it—the ambitious developmental agendas of the African state, in particular—as well as the interplay between its different corporate forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses responses from Chinese university students to China's most successful blockbuster to date, Wolf Warrior 2. Responses revealed racialized language objectifying the black African Other and affirmation of existing scepticisms towards Sino-African relations. It is argued that these responses must be understood within the context of trust these students have in the mediated messages they encounter, the Chinese leadership, the hearsay of social networks, and film industry standards established by Hollywood, all of which precondition Chinese student understandings of 'Africa' and 'Africans' that informs their viewing experience. Trust in the nation's film industry, however, also suggests Chinese cinema may have the ability to improve racial awareness among Chinese audiences. To do so though, would require a shift in the film industry's objectives from its current efforts in patriotic education, to portraying China and the Chinese as one of many within an interconnected global community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectacular scale and speed of China's domestic renewable energy capacity development and technology catch-up has in recent years been followed by the 'go out' of Chinese clean energy technology firms seeking new markets and opportunities in sub- Saharan Africa. This paper explores the growing involvement of China in the development and transfer of renewable energy technologies in Africa and examines the key drivers and obstacles shaping Chinese renewable energy investments and exports. Far from there being some kind of grand or harmonious strategy directed by a single monolithic state, we argue that fragmented and decentralised state apparatuses and quasi-market actors in China are increasingly pursuing their own independent interests and agendas around renewable energy in Africa in ways often marked by conflict, inconsistency and incoherence. Moving beyond the state-centric analysis common in much of the research on contemporary China-Africa relations, we examine the motivations of a range of non-state and quasi-state actors, as well their different perceptions and constructions of risk, policy environments and political stability in recipient countries. The paper explores the case study example of South Africa, where Chinese firms have become increasingly significant in the diffusion of renewable energy technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While debates continue about China's role in sub-Saharan Africa, there is growing consensus that China is a different kind of development partner. One distinct feature of Chinese partnerships is that they include support for the tobacco industry, a sector other donor states and institutions shun. Not only is tobacco a primary agricultural export in a number of Africa states, the state-owned Chinese National Tobacco Corporation is the largest tobacco company in the world. This paper analyses Chinese support for the tobacco industry in three states – Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia – documenting how co-operation is shaped by Chinese state capitalism and assessing the development and governance implications. Following an introduction situating the analysis within the context of China–Africa co-operation and tobacco's global value chain, Chinese engagement in each country is analysed. Findings indicate that, despite differences across case studies in terms of development outcomes, common governance implications are apparent. African elites initiated tobacco-related co-operation to meet their interests, but Chinese interests dominated implementation. Consequently, Chinese investments have maintained hierarchal governance of an exploitive and harmful industry. Analyses of Chinese African co-operation need to move beyond public–private paradigms and interrogate the nuances of Chinese state capitalism in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a preliminary reflection on China’s domestic development and its aid presence in Africa. “Development” had its day before the 1970s but then encountered de-constructive and re-constructive critics in the field of Development Anthropology. China’s conceptualization of development has not only drawn a lot from Western development discourse but also evolved with its own features, which deserve a critical reflection in terms of an “elusive discourse” and the “practical pursuit of welfare”, a seemingly paradoxical dichotomy. It follows with China’s foreign assistance or aid presence in Africa, which, the author holds, is imprinted with China’s development practice concepts and illustrated by a case of Chinese development aid in Ethiopia. The paper eventually discusses the would-be roles of Chinese anthropologists, who have been surprisingly absent in recent years, in contrast to Western academia’s intellectual tradition of widely reflecting development issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the launch of its 'go out' policy in 1999, China has positioned itself not only as Africa's largest trade partner but also as its largest investor. In the water sector, Chinese companies and banks are now the biggest builders and financiers of global hydropower dams. Moreover, China has increasingly begun to implement other water-related projects, including the construction of water treatment stations and water supply projects across Africa. Chinese companies' competitive advantage to win tenders, largely due to the financial and political support of Beijing's institutions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank), China Development Bank), plays an important role in increasing China's footprint in Africa. However, the social and environmental implications of this increasing infrastructure development have been noticed. Given that many dams built by Chinese companies are constructed without reference to international environmental and social standards, ecological processes can suffer long-term damage, which has an additional effect on local communities. This paper will give a general overview of Chinese investments in Africa's water sector, looking into the modes of engagement as well as discussing the potential pitfalls and benefits of Chinese investments in the water sector and what regional impacts these may have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between Africa and the developed world has been a subject of much discussion over the years. Recently, however, there has been a lot of controversy around China's activities in Africa. Several criticisms have arisen alleging the exploitation of Africa by China. This study set out to examine China's activities on the African continent with a focus on Ghana and Ethiopia to clearly reveal the various sides of the argument and put them into perspective. The study also sought to establish whether a new scramble is occurring in Africa, with neocolonialist strategies. The study relied on the realist theory to understand China's intentions regarding its activities on the continent and on neocolonialism to explore any incidence of a new scramble. Secondary sources were employed to collect data for analysis. The study found that although some of the activities of China on the continent were questionable, they have been partially beneficial to the continent. Africa is not as vulnerable as perceived but has the capacity to leverage some of its resources to foster its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Scramble for Africa' has historically been a concept used to describe the plunder of Africa by colonial powers, their subsequent economic capture of African resources, their political control and their racial domination of Africans. But, in recent times, many writers have pointed to Chinese 'Scramble for Africa'. Of these depictions, The Economist 's has been both categorical and relentless. But is the set of relationships between China and African countries imperial? Does it amount to a Chinese 'Scramble for Africa'? If so, what can be done; if not, why not? Neither content nor institutional analyses of 27 stories, sampled from 132 issues of The Economist from 2019 to 2021, show conclusive evidence that the relationship between China and Africa is imperial. Evidence of African indebtedness to China, Chinese opaque resource transactions in Africa, and the controlling effect of China's Belt and Road Initiative typically emphasised by The Economist is serious. But it does not amount to economic plunder, political control, military destabilisation or racial domination. The Economist 's characterisation of China–Africa relations reflects wider processes of Westernisation. Its features include the use of mainstream economic analysis, (mis)representation of the Global South to maintain Western hegemony and inhibiting Southern struggle to break the Western chokehold on global development. As an elite newspaper, The Economist 's 'frame analysis' not only presents news, but also produces views that caricature Global South agendas, especially those that threaten Western liberalism and imperialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the global COVID-19 crisis, China has portrayed itself as a "champion of multilateralism" -- defending UN institutions and its own multilateral initiatives in a variety of spheres. China's approach has, however, often been criticised for undermining multilateralism through its use of multilateral platforms as arenas to contest US leadership. This paper examines the official Chinese discourse on multilateralism during the COVID 19 crisis in the years 2020 and 2021 in light of Beijing's multilateral diplomacy in the Global South, exemplified by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-CELAC Forum (China--Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum). The authors argue that China's growing multilateral engagement must be understood in the context of a multilateral system that was already in crisis before the pandemic due to its inability to resolve major global challenges. The term "multilateralism" is essentially used by Beijing to discursively oppose "unilateralism". While its active multilateral engagement may be able to prevent and resolve major global crises in the future, Beijing's approach offers limited multilateral spaces for deliberation and contestation by weaker states and non-state actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we examine how the strategic investment partnership between China and African countries has come to be identified and labeled in the discourse on Sino-African relationships. The emerging narrative is that Chinese investment in Africa is fraught with issues such as labor abuses, risky loans, and imported labor, therefore contributing little to employment generation and local skills development. Nevertheless, we identify good Chinese-financed business outcomes, suggesting that Chinese investments in Africa have positively impacted technology transfer and significantly bridged Africa's infrastructure gap; our estimation points to a high workforce localization rate within Chinese firms, of above 80%. In making explicit how these competing perspectives play out in the form Sinophilia and Sinophobia, we induce an integrative framework which assimilates the two perspectives to delineate the affection/disaffection phenomena characterizing the evolving China-Africa business relationship. We also set out an agenda for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris administration working toward the resetting of policies and strategies toward Africa and China, the question of whether African journalists will be accorded a chance to tell an African narrative amid the trilateral relationship has become more apparent. The influence exerted by China in African poses questions of whether China is "constructively" reporting Africa and whether journalists do see themselves as telling an African story. This study interrogates the role of African journalistic paradigms within a broader framework of what it means to constructively report Africa. It argues that despite the overwhelming challenges, the African media can tell its narrative if, (a). it seriously interrogates its journalism education system, (b). focus on in-depth reporting as opposed to efficiency and convenience, and (c). value its epistemologies and localize its content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author talks about China investing and settling in the African territory long back, has once again been activated as the Chinese and African current interests and needs are supplementary due to Africa's mineral reserves, uncultivated land and fresh water resources.

Due to their relatively high Hf contents (i.e., several hundreds to thousands of ppm), columbite-group minerals (CGMs) are suitable for Lu–Hf isotope analysis, which can provide new insights into the source of such minerals in combination with the U–Pb age of rare-metal deposits. However, few studies have reported Lu–Hf isotope data for CGMs. Tantalum is a major element in CGMs (12–48 wt% Ta2O5) and has a significant effect on measurements of Hf isotopes using MC-ICP-MS. This effect was first evaluated in this study by analysis of mixed Hf–Ta standard solutions with different Ta/Hf ratios and LA-MC-ICP-MS analysis of various CGMs. This analytical artifact reflects serious tailing of the large 181Ta signal onto the 180Hf and 179Hf masses during analysis. Therefore, in order to obtain accurate Hf isotope data for CGMs by MC-ICP-MS, we present an improved chemical separation procedure for Hf from Ta, and also a novel analytical protocol for LA-MC-ICP-MS analysis of CGMs. Accurate in situ176Hf/177Hf ratios for CGMs can be obtained by normalization to 178Hf/177Hf = 1.4672, rather than 179Hf/177Hf = 0.7325, using the exponential law. This approach was validated by solution and laser ablation MC-ICP-MS analysis of four CGM samples from China and Africa. The Lu–Hf isotopic composition of CGMs provides a new geochemical tracer for rare-metal deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely held that China's development was forged from a unique pathway to that of Western countries. As a result, it has been assumed that China's historical experience of modernization contains important lessons for other developing states. However, as we show, modernization in China can be seen as sharing many of the same assumptions of development as the West. Using insights from Cox's work on civilizations--particularly the notion of 'Business Civilization' (adapted from Susan Strange)--our paper examines how modernization theoretic assumptions underpin both Chinese and World Bank perspectives on agricultural development not only within China but also across their engagements, policies, and practices of development throughout Africa. We argue that development constitutes a political project historically inseparable from La mission civilisatrice of Business Civilization, extending a form of intersubjectivity and materiality, power and rationality, based on a specific civilizational worldview. This process retains a number of contradictions and points of conflict and we focus on the resistances of traditional forms of civilization in contestations around the imposition of commercialized agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses China's diplomatic strategy under President Xi Jinping, emphasizing global partnerships and adherence to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Topics include China's focus on major-country relations, cooperation with developing countries, and historical evolution of its diplomatic engagement with the developing world.

This article reports and reflects on an empirical investigation of the views of selected Generation Z students from South Africa and China on the role of universities in developing socially responsible graduates. In 2020, an online questionnaire was developed and distributed to three university students enrolled in engineering, built environment, and information technology degree programs. There were 417 responses from students in these three fields at the University of Pretoria, South Africa; thirtyone from students at Sichuan University, China; and twenty-three from engineering students at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The majority of the students from all three universities strongly agreed that participation in community development projects linked to their field of study should be a required component of their degree programs. The research findings indicate that students in these fields who participated in the study consider themselves among the university's main stakeholders and believe they should be included in curriculum development. Most of these students were positive about embedding socially responsible service-learning in their curricula to prepare them for future roles in a local and global society. The limitations of the study were the following. These students from university campuses in China and South Africa are not representative of all Generation Z individuals in these countries. The validity of the research may be limited as the University of Pretoria's cohort was much larger than the other two universities. Only those students who had enrolled in courses in engineering, the built environment, and information technology were involved in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascending to the presidency at the time of the lingering global economic crisis, Jacob Zuma drew South Africa closer to China as an alternative development partner. The scholarly literature on South Africa–China relations during Zuma's administration focuses largely on whether the relationship was mutually beneficial and on the purported shift in South Africa's foreign policy from Euro-American developed countries towards the East, with China being at the forefront. Despite the widespread calls for radical economic transformation during Zuma's administration, the existing discourse has not interrogated the practicality of the proposed policy in the context of South Africa–China relations. In light of the above, the current article adopts Afrocentricity to interrogate the practicality of radical economic transformation in the context of South Africa–China relations. Methodologically, the author engaged in qualitative desktop research that relied heavily on secondary data and employed document review to analyse the collected data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The growing involvement of the Chinese state and business in Africa has generated significant debate about China’s Africa strategy and the benefits for Africa’s development. What is the nature of Chinese state capitalism in Africa? This study examines Chinese state–business relations and argues that China’s involvement in Africa is more complex than often portrayed. It aims to build a closer understanding of the diverse factors that influence the Chinese state–business relations as it is implemented in Africa. This paper focuses on how state–business interactions influence agricultural development outcomes, using six case-studies from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It explores the question of how far the state can control business and direct development by identifying the key relationships that influence the decision-making processes of state and business actors within China and its African engagement. The paper challenges the conventional wisdom of homogenized, unitary relations. It argues that these relations are, in practice, heterogeneous, as a result of the state being disaggregated into a multiplicity of provincial relations and central state agencies, and tensions arising between commercial market and political interests. The active role of African governments in agricultural schemes is also affecting outcomes. China’s engagement is multivariate, involving a multiplicity of agencies, operating at different levels, structures, and processes with sometimes contrary interests and goals. The findings of an analysis of six state–business projects in the agricultural sectors of Zimbabwe and Mozambique suggest that where agriculture is concerned, a wide range of Chinese agencies are involved, with businesses being driven by either market forces or national state interests, which together make outcomes less open to generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Africa Development is the property of CODESRIA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper analyses South Africa-China relations emphasising how changing identities of the two countries since the 1940s define their outlook on critical issues such as human rights and democracy. Sino-South African relations are divided into three epochs. The first covers the Mao era; the second traverses the post-Mao era and the subsequent economic and modernization reforms up to the end of the Cold War; the third and current epoch roughly starts in 1994, after the establishment of democracy in South Africa. Constructivism is used as the theoretical framework to interpret the evolving South Africa-China relationship. This study adopted a qualitative approach. The outcome of the study is that changes in identity of these two nations have shaped their national interests. Thus, when countries share identities and interests - be they good or controversial - stable cooperation is possible among them. In this vein, constructivism concedes that shared or differing identities and interests among states can produce either cooperative or conflictual relations. This distinguishes constructivism from idealism, a theory under which it has often been subsumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the pattern and determinants of contractual projects by Chinese contractors in Africa. Contracts by Chinese in Africa are a dominant component of China's economic relations with Africa. They exceed China's foreign direct investment in Africa. While similar to direct investments, contracts are based on some different considerations and are, therefore, subject to different determinants from foreign investment. This work is the first empirical study conducted on China's contracts overseas. It explores three models: economic, political, and resource based. Of the three, the resource-based model best explains the pattern and determinants of China's contracts in Africa. The countries abundant in petroleum and minerals tend to have Chinese projects. In addition to natural resources, we also look into the effects on contracts of market size, economic growth, education, investment, inflation, economic openness, exchange rate, regime type, governance, and bilateral relations with China. Our finding indicates that China's contractual projects are drawn to the African countries that are well endowed in natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's embrace of a comprehensive and aggressive economic statecraft as part of its grand strategy indicates a paradigm change in its foreign policy. This change has captured scholarly attention – a growing body of research on China's economic statecraft has emerged in recent years. This special topic presents a fresh selection of four research essays examining China's economic statecraft practiced in a wide range of countries and regions in the world, including Latin America, Africa, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand. Collectively, these essays explore two important questions: (1) How successful has China's economic statecraft been? (2) How do domestic variables (e.g., domestic politics, political institutions, interests, and public opinion) of the target states (in which China practices economic statecraft) affect the outcome of the Chinese strategies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China’s economic and political presence in Africa increases, so does the need for its government to maintain a favorable image with African publics. Borrowing theories of soft power diplomacy and language planning, this paper analyzes, from the perspectives of African and Chinese policymakers, the impact of the Confucius Institutes on higher education in Africa and its intersections with language planning and cultural diplomacy. An empirical case study at the University of Nairobi Confucius Institute shows that policymakers and administrators anticipate that a competent group of Kenyans with Mandarin language skills will be able to engage with Chinese people and Chinese-owned companies on the ground in Kenya. However, Chinese diplomats are more concerned with China’s image and achieving its political and economic interests in Kenya than with effective cultural exchange and language instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the relationship between China and Africa, specifically focusing on Sino-African relations. It discusses two main perspectives: the structural approach, which portrays China as a neocolonial power in Africa, and the agency approach, which looks at China's foreign policy towards Africa. However, the article argues that both perspectives overlook the role of African agency in shaping the relationship. It concludes by calling for more research on African agency in Sino-African relations. [Extracted from the article]

The challenges facing Africans in Chinese cities have been examined from different perspectives, including healthcare‐related challenges and barriers. However, how they navigate health problems through circulation and transnational practices has received scant attention. The article explored the importance of circulation and everyday transnationalism in health maintenance using qualitative data from 37 Nigerians in Guangdong Province, China. It revealed that transnational practices involving the flows of people, medicinal commodities and information were crucial in managing their health issues with circulating migrants, family members and healthcare professionals at home playing important roles. Circular migrants import herbal medicines and hard‐to‐acquire pharmaceutical drugs between Nigeria and China, family members and relatives also send over‐the‐counter drugs to migrants and health professionals in Nigeria supply medical information through transnational consultation. The article advanced the literature as it responds to the growing call for adopting a transnational lens for interrogating the link between migration and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]