The Washington Post published on 10 July 2023 an article titled "Winning Friends by Training Workers Is China's New Gambit" by Shibani Mahtani and Joshua Irwandi.
This is a detailed account of China's program to extend vocational education in the Global South through the establishment of Luban workshops. In preparing the article, the authors visited workshops in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Indonesia. The workshops in Africa have been billed as a key component of Sino-African cooperation and part of a broader effort to engage the region economically in exchange for diplomatic support on issues important to China.
China established Luban workshops in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Morocco, Egypt, Cote d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Rwanda. China says that it has 12 Luban workshops in Africa. It is possible that one or more of these workshops opened and subsequently closed.
