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Paper short abstract

This paper explores China’s influence in Africa through the concept of ‘webpower’; a framework that captures the primary vectors of influence that China uses to express its power and construct what we call a “govosphere”. The framework is illustrated by examining China’s influence in Ethiopia.

Paper long abstract

How does China build politico-economic power globally, and in Africa in particular? There has been significant debate in the literature about whether China’s global geostrategy is centrally coordinated or more diffuse and heterogeneous in nature. This paper explores the enmeshed geopolitical and geoeconomic characteristics of China’s influence in Africa through the development and deployment of the concept of ‘webpower’; a framework that captures the primary vectors of influence the party-state uses to express/extend its power, and reshape the world system. Webpower is understood as a geopolitical/geoeconomic manifestation of Chinese state capitalism; one that seeks to align and enroll Southern economies, in particular, into a Sinocentric orbit or what we call a “govosphere”. The paper first situates the approach within the context of debates and dialogues on "new" state capitalisms and the "Second Cold War", and then introduces and develops the webpower framework. The framework is illustrated by first examining the drivers of webpower that emanate from China's party-state apparatus, and then assessing webpower's development implications in Africa using evidence from Ethiopia. Webpower captures the idea that central coordination/steering co-exists with more diffuse action by actors within Chinese policy and (inter)national economic circles, and with significant, long-term implications for development dynamics in Africa as the govosphere widens and deepens.