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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.