China S Aid To Africa

Although China has rapidly increased foreign aid to Africa and is now a relatively major player in the developmental assistance regime, little is still known regarding how China delivers its foreign aid, and even less about how this foreign aid actually works in the recipient countries. This book, extensively utilising Chinese sources, much of which have not been available before, examines the effectiveness and sustainability of China's foreign aid in Africa, as well as the political, economic and diplomatic factors that influence Chinese aid disbursement policies. The book argues that a nebulous notion of "friendship", however ill-defined, is a key factor in Chinese aid, something which is often overlooked by Western scholars. Through a detailed examination of both the decision-making process in Chinese aid disbursements, as well as an examination of specific case studies in West Africa, this book improves our understanding of China's foreign aid policies towards Africa. It finds that there are profound shortcomings in China's foreign aid at present which, despite the protestations of "friendship" and solidarity, undermine Beijing’s effectiveness as an actor in the developmental assistance enterprise in Africa. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of development studies, African studies, China-Africa relations and more broadly to international relations.

"This book describes China's growing range of activities in Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region. The three most important instruments China has at its disposal in Africa are development aid, investments and trade policy. The Chinese government, which believes the Western development aid model has failed, is looking for new forms of aid and development in Africa. China's economic success can partly be ascribed to the huge availability of cheap labour, which is primarily employed in export-oriented industries. China is looking for the required raw materials in Africa, and for new marketplaces. Investments are being made on a large scale in Africa by Chinese state-controlled firms and private companies, particularly in the oil-producing countries (Angola, Nigeria and Sudan) and countries rich in minerals (Zambia). Third, the trade policy China is conducting is analysed in China and compared with that of Europe and the United States. In case studies the specific situation in several African countries is examined. In Zambia the mining industry, construction and agriculture are described. One case study of Sudan deals with the political presence of China in Sudan and the extent to which Chinese arms suppliers contributed to the current crisis in Darfur. The possibility of Chinese diplomacy offering a solution in that conflict is discussed. The conclusion considers whether social responsibility can be expected of the Chinese government and companies and if this is desirable, and to what extent the Chinese model in Africa can act as an example - or not - for the West"--Publisher's description.

China’s rise as an aid provider in Africa has caught global attention, with China’s activity being viewed as the projection of soft power of a neo-colonialist kind in an international relations context. This book, which focuses on China’s education aid—government scholarships, training, Confucius Institutes, dispatched teachers, etc., reveals a much more complicated picture. It outlines how the divide between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Education hinders China’s soft power projection, how much of China’s aid is bound up with an education-for-economic-growth outlook, mirroring China’s own recent experiences of economic development, and how China’s aid—prioritized to reflect the commercial sector’s interests—is out of step with most international development aid, which is dominated by education agendas and the campaigns of international organizations and traditional donors; this leaves China easily exposed to the charge of neo-colonialism. This situation also reveals insufficient knowledge production of China and in South-South Cooperation. Substantial production of Southern knowledge should recognize the international development cooperation architecture as an open system by which both traditional donors and Southern countries transform.

Examines Chinese engagement with African nations, focusing on (1) Chinese and African objectives in the political and economic spheres and how they work to achieve them, (2) African perceptions of Chinese engagement, (3) how China has adjusted its policies to accommodate African views, and (4) whether the United States and China are competing for influence, access, and resources in Africa and how they might cooperate in the region.

" A Brookings Institution Press and World Peace Foundation publication Africa has long attracted China. We can date their first certain involvement from the fourteenth century, but East African city-states may have been trading with southern China even e...

In African Countries and the Global Scramble for China, Mbaidjol engages the reader, from African perspectives and African People’s interests, in a theme that is currently fuelling international relations debates.

China’s increasing involvement in Africa is a controversial and hotly debated issue. On the one hand, China has brought significant economic and political opportunities to the continent with large amounts of investment and infrastructure. On the other hand, however, China’s interests in Africa - including international strategy for multipolarity, a boom in China-Africa trade, and a strategic focus on energy – have been challenged as a form of neo-colonialism with claims that support for authoritarian governments has come at the expense of human rights, the environment and good governance. This book analyses China’s responsibility in Africa through the lens of good governance, China’s African policy, policy implementation, feedback from host countries, and feedback from international society. Arguing for a new framework for evaluating China-Africa engagement, it looks at four countries – Sudan (South Sudan), Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia, all of which represent typical features of China-Africa relations – to test China’s impact on the country and to analyse the factors in Africa that affect China’s ability to shoulder responsibility. It proves that China’s responsibility in Africa is affected by both the Chinese and African environments and that China’s positive or negative impacts on the host African countries are largely constrained by the political and economic situation within the host state. Containing information from first-hand interviews with African officials, officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, employees from Chinese State-owned enterprises who have been assigned to Africa, and Chinese self-employers in Africa, and using fieldwork from three African countries, this book will be of significant interest to students and scholars of African and Chinese Politics, International Relations and Development.