Paper short abstract:

Research on Sino-African engagement poses challenges to researchers, particularly in terms of access to people and information both in Africa and China. Methodological refinements such as multiple fieldwork periods and attention to socio-cultural environment can help overcome these challenges.

Paper long abstract:

As the African continent is witnessing an increase of economic and political engagement with China, a growing number of scholars from across the globe is contributing to the production of knowledge on the subject. Notwithstanding this widening of literature, conducting research on Sino-African relations is consistently posing challenges, particularly in terms of access (to people and information) and in tracing the threads of research to China.

Mainstream methodological approaches appear incapable of fully grasping the layered political, social and cultural complexity of Chinese engagement with African nations. This is especially true for research interactions often hindered by language barriers or the lack of cross-cultural trust. In this context, higher methodological scrutiny is crucial to overcome the daily challenges that such complexity poses to researchers.

Knowledge of the Chinese socio-cultural environment (and ideally language) allows the researcher to recognise the difficulty some informants have in conceiving the research being undertaken, depending on whether they have studied before or after educational reforms, and thus taking appropriate steps. Multiple field trips can help build relationships based on mutual trust, facilitating formal interviewing as well as expanding the pool of informants in loco. This appears to be particularly important as research on Sino-African engagement requires the establishment of bottom-up connections with informants rather than approaching organisations and institutions from the top-down.

Building on fieldwork experience in both Kenya and China, this paper offers reflections on some of these methodological adjustments and on how researchers can deploy them to better overcome problems of access.

Paper short abstract:

Derrick Avenue in Cyrildene, a suburb in the eastern parts of the city, is the closest one can get to a clichéd Chinese (street life) atmosphere in Johannesburg. However, instead of resorting to ethnicity and difference as an entry point, we explore the street as an ordinary object of research.

Paper long abstract:

Derrick Avenue in Cyrildene, a suburb in the eastern parts of the city, is the closest one can get to a clichéd Chinese (street life) atmosphere in Johannesburg. Owing to the prevalence of visible Chinese markers and its demographics, this activity node sparks imaginaries of a spatialised elsewhere. Standing in sharp contrast to the surrounding, mostly residential neighbourhood, this street has been viewed as exceptional and different, contributing to its divorce from the rest of the area. In reality though, and irrespective of its 'ethnic' qualities, many of the existent layers point to a number of urban dynamics that characterise Johannesburg as a whole.

In most studies of Chinese spaces outside of China, the adoption of ethnicity and difference as the main entry point has shaped the ways in which these spaces are being analysed and conceptualised. In the case of Cyrildene, we argue that this specific analytical framework not only obscures but also assigns a certain singularity to urban dynamics and realities often exceeding the confines of this area. We seek to shift away from classifying this space and engage the street and its surroundings as an ordinary object of research. Stripping it, at least at the outset, of its Chinese features, our aim is to understand how characteristics of a lived and constructed differentiation materialise and relate to geographies of the ordinary, thereby suggesting a more comprehensive approach to the study of Chinese urban spaces in contexts beyond China.

Paper short abstract:

The paper uses assesses the extent China is responsible for Africa's growing debt. It will also explore why debt from China is increasingly attractive to African countries and concludes by reflecting on how Chinese loans can help Africa achieve its SDG goals.

Paper long abstract:

Sovereign debt appetite in Africa has reached worrying and continues to grow at an unsustainable rate at a time when the growth rate of African economies is slowing down. The average debt to GDP level in Africa is now estimated at 50% - above the internationally accepted sustainable level (of 40%). The rise in debt levels has happened at a time when loans extended to African countries by China have grown at an estimated average annual rate of 20% over the last decade and a half. China is now Africa's largest creditor, accounting for approximately 18% (US$133 billion) of the debt of 43 African countries as of 2017 - spurring accusations that China is deliberately 'trapping' African countries in unsustainable debt.

The paper uses available quantitative and qualitative data to assess the extent China is responsible for Africa's growing debt. Among other things, the paper will reflect on the data challenges assessing debt data in Africa. It also explores why debt from China is increasingly attractive to African countries. It concludes by reflecting on how Chinese loans can not only help Africa achieve its SDG goals but also potentially help solve other global problems such as the current migration crisis Europe is facing.

Paper short abstract:

This article will present preliminary findings from a field study in Angola whose objective is to identify and assess spillover effects of Chinese FDI. These can be understood as productivity gains that local firms may reap as a result of transfer of technology brought by foreign investors.

Paper long abstract:

For better or worse foreign direct investment (FDI) has always been an engine of the Angolan economy and a tool for political elites to consolidate power. Typically, scholars would look potential gains from FDI in what is known as "direct effects". These are balance of payment gains, capital provision, including plugging saving and foreign exchange gaps, job creation, wage increases, additional tax revenues or trade creation. Not much attention has been given to what economists call "indirect effects" or "spillover effects". These are productivity gains that local firms may reap as a result of a transfer of technology and knowledge brought by foreign investors. In fact, considering all potential FDI gains spillover effects have been considered the most sought after by hosting countries. Whereas Western FDI, driven almost entirely by resource-seeking motives, have never been expected to yield much of these, the rhetoric surrounding China-Africa ties might suggest that benefits from Chinese FDI should be spreading beyond the usual and investment activity of Chinese firms, which is arguably more across-the-board, would lift if not all the boats, then perhaps more of them. This article will present preliminary findings from a field study in Angola whose primary objective is to identify and assess the spillover effects of Chinese FDI in selected sectors.

Paper short abstract:

China-Africa research has largely neglected the role of private Chinese firms, particularly in industrial development in Africa. We examine cases in Ethiopia and Uganda, and explore the challenges of integrating Chinese industrial parks in with broader urban development and infrastructure needs.

Paper long abstract:

Much existing China-Africa research focuses on relations between African states and Chinese state institutions or state-owned enterprises, with the role of Chinese private companies relatively underexplored. However, among the growing number of Chinese industrial parks in Africa, many of these are owned and managed by private firms and are less about the transfer of state-driven development models than the vision of private entrepreneurs and the personal relationships they cultivate with African leaders. These parks are often located in places with fundamentally different urban conditions from those in China, both because of the way land is acquired (delete by private companies) and because of the scale of infrastructure deficits.

Chinese firms' investments in industrial parks in Africa are primarily driven by commercial interests seizing overseas industrial opportunities as China moves up the value chain. These investments bring new drivers of change to African localities, in terms of both employment and Chinese-led infrastructure. However, while they are theoretically in line with African countries' structural transformation visions, these projects entail spatial and institutional disconnections that generate challenges for local governance. As the areas adjoining new industrial parks rapidly change from small settlements to urban hubs with new economic and social identities, local authorities lack the capacity and resources to provide the necessary housing and public services or to maximise knowledge transfer. This article explores these dynamics through case studies of Chinese industrial parks in Ethiopia and Uganda, which are generating a new nexus of industrialization and urban development with minimal engagement and planning by urban authorities.

Paper short abstract:

The paper considers potential spillover effects of Chinese FDI in Zambia. We verify the hypothesis whether the Zambian governments succeeded in creating adequate political and institutional environment to enable local companies to utilise benefits from the Chinese FDI.

Paper long abstract:

In 2018 Zambia was announced the first Chinese colony in Africa. Chinese policy towards Zambia was described as a "debt trap diplomacy", aimed rather at gaining control over the country's critical infrastructure than supporting Zambia's development. As for today there are over 500 Chinse companies operating in Zambia and according to Xinhua Chinese investments in Zambia reached $4 billion. In 2011, when Patriotic Front came to power, partly on the wave of anti-Chinese sentiments, Michael Sata was repeatedly saying that the previous governments had not made clear what obligations Chinese FDI should meet. In most cases, the FDI bring positive and negative (both direct and indirect) effects for the hosting economy. The magnitude of positive results depends strongly on the polices introduced by the local government to reap the benefits of the inflowing FDI.

This article has two major objectives. Firstly, we provide an updated profile of the Chinese FDI in Zambia. Secondly, we present preliminary findings from the desk research and field study in Zambia and verify the hypothesis whether the Zambian governments succeeded in creating adequate political and institutional environment to enable local companies to utilise benefits from the Chinese FDI.