Paper short abstract:

China has become a major sponsor for urban projects in Africa. With the Case of a China led greenfield urban projects in Mauritius, this research will illustrate to what extent, urban life, power relationship, and social justice could be influenced by foreign sponsored urban speculation.

Paper long abstract:

In recent decades, to mitigate pressures created during rapid urbanisation or to fulfil ‘urban fantasy’, cities in the Global South places great hopes in international resources. Meanwhile, the global presence of China is increasing in scale, visibility, and diversity as a result of China’s ‘Going Out’ policy and Belt and Road Initiative. Via an array of spectacular urban projects, inform of ‘New Towns’ or ‘Smart Cities’, China has become a main sponsor in urban Africa settings. Though some projects are widely discussed, exactly how urban life and social justice in recipient countries influenced by resources and policies from China is still seldom explored in greater detail. Both ‘debt traps’ myth of Chinese projects and South-South Cooperation narratives over-simplified the topics, and more careful empirical examination on the ground are demanded. This research advances an in-depth qualitative study of the JinFei Smart City in Mauritius, a relatively long-term, high-profile greenfield urban development undertaken with Chinese sponsorship. However, closer examination of this project reveals under-appreciated social influence caused by Chinese sponsored urban projects. These include, for example, the influence of these projects upon residents, which sometimes are described as ‘land grab’. It also includes significant influence upon political system or urban plan making – private or state-owned companies and bureaucracy are involved while local councils are excluded. The projects also reshaped Chinese diaspora communities with a longstanding presence in Mauritius. These complexities shed important light on how JinFei Smart City and major projects like it influence social justice and urban life.