China-Africa Economic Dispute Settlement

 The Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business published in the spring of 2023 a research article titled "Trends in China-Africa Economic Relations and Dispute Settlement" by Won Kidane, Villanova University School of Law.

While trade relations between China and Africa are theoretically subject to the same multilateral World Trade Organization rules, they are in practice mostly based on informal unilateral concessions.  Moreover, investment relations are partially governed by fragmented and mostly outdated bilateral investment treaties, and commercial relations are formalized by ad hoc contractual instruments of diverse origin and deployment.  

Free Download of China-Africa Book

Oxford University Press has made China-Africa and an Economic Transformation available for free download.  Edited by Arkebe Oqubay and Justin Yifu Lin, it was published in 2019.  It contains the following chapters:

--Introduction to China-Africa and an Economic Transformation by Arkebe Oqubay and Justin Yifu Lin.
--China's Economic Emergence and Implications for Africa by Linda Yueh.
--The Meanings and Global Externalities of China's Economic Emergence by Celestin Monga.
--China-Africa Ties in Historical Context by David H. Shinn.
--Evolving Debates and Outlooks on China-Africa Economic Ties by Chris Alden.
--The Institutional Framework of Sino-African Relations by Ian Taylor.
--Chinese Loans and African Structural Transformation by Deborah Brautigam.
--China's Development Finance and African Infrastructure by Jing Gu and Richard Carey.
--The Changing Dynamics of Chinese Oil and Gas Engagements in Africa by Cyril Obi.
--The Political Economy of China's Investment in Nigeria: Prometheus or Leviathan? by Omolade Adunbi and Howard Stein.
--Agreements and Dispute Settlement in China-Africa Economic Ties by Won L. Kidane.
--Labour Regimes and Workplace Encounters between China and Africa by Carlos Oya.
--China's Light Manufacturing and Africa's Industrialization by Justin Yifu Lin and Jiajun Xu.
--Catalysing China-Africa Ties for Africa's Structural Transformation: Lessons from Ethiopia by Fantu Cheru and Arkebe Oqubay.
--The Future of China-Africa Economic Ties: New Trajectory and Possibilities by Arkebe Oqubay and Justin Yifu Lin. 

New Book on China-Africa

Oxford University Press will publish in May 2019 a book titled "China-Africa and an Economic Transformation" edited by Arkebe Oquabay, Minister and Coordinator of Economic Sectors and Senior Adviser to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, and Justin Yifu Lin, Dean, Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University. The book includes my chapter on China-Africa Ties in Historical Context.

The chapters include:

--Introduction to China-Africa and an Economic Transformation by Justin Yifu Lin and Arkebe Oquabay.
--China's Economic Emergence and Implications for Africa by Linda Yueh.
--The Meanings and Global Externalities of China's Economic Emergence by Celestin Monga.
--China-Africa Ties in Historical Context by David H. Shinn.
--Evolving Debates and Outlooks on China-Africa Economic Ties by Chris Alden.
--The Institutional Framework of Sino-African Relations by Ian Taylor.
--Chinese Loans and African Structural Transformation by Deborah Brautigam.
--China's Development Finance and African Infrastructure Development by Richard Carey and Jing Gu.
--The Changing Dynamics of Chinese Oil and Gas Engagements in Africa by Cyril Obi.
--The Political Economy of China's Investment in Nigeria: Prometheus or Leviathan? by Omolade Adunbi and Howard Stein.
--Agreements and Dispute Settlement in China-Africa Economic Ties by Won L. Kidane.
--Labour Regimes and Workplace Encounters between China and Africa by Carlos Oya.
--China's Light Manufacturing and Africa's Industrialization by Justin Yifu Lin and Jiajun Xu.
--Catalyzing China-Africa Ties for Africa's Structural Transformation: Lessons from Ethiopia by Fantu Cheru and Arkebe Oqubay.
--The Future of China-Africa Economic Ties: New Trajectory and Possibilities by Justin Yifu Lin and Arkebe Oqubay.

China, Philippines, Africa and Dispute Settlement

The Philippines-based Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies published in June 2016 a study titled "China Could and Should Learn a Lesson or Two from Africa in the Area of Peaceful Dispute Settlement" by Alfredo C. Robles, Jr., former professor at De La Salle University in Manila.

The author notes that China is seeking African support for its South China Sea dispute with the Philippines and suggests China would be better advised to follow the lead of many African countries that have submited their disputes for settlement to the International Court of Justice.

UN Agreement with Somalia

The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) signed a detailed legal agreement on 26 February 2014 with the government of Somalia.  It lays down the ground rules under which UNSOM can operate in Somalia.

Investment Study for Mekelle, Ethiopia

The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), an initiative of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, in cooperation with the UN Development Program recently published an 83-page study titled "Invest in Ethiopia: Focus Mekelle."

This study covers one of the eleven cities in eight African countries in an effort to attract more foreign direct investment. 

The other cities in the project are Accra and Kumasi, Ghana; Kisumu, Kenya; Blantyre, Malawi; Bamako and Segou, Mali; Akure and Kaduna, Nigeria; Louga, Senegal; and Tabora, Tanzania.

The detailed study looks at:

• Opportunities for investors
• Incentives, special zones and related matters
• The business environment
• Taxation in Ethiopia
• Legal framework for investment
• Investor assessment of the investment climate
• Foreign investors in Ethiopia