Decentralizing Afro-Chinese Relations (in French, English and Spanish)

 The most recent edition of Revue Internationale des Etudes du Developpement is devoted to the topic "Relations afro-chinoises: decentrer l'analyse."

 The articles in this special issue offer a decentering of the approach to Afro-Chinese relations through an analysis of Africans taking an active role in order to assess to what extent the Chinese presence has responded or not to African requests, and how African actors have responded.  

The articles deal with China's role in Ghana's free zones, the role of executives in Chinese construction subsidiaries in Algeria, Chinese medical teams in Cameroon, the promotion of kung fu in Cameroon and Gabon, and testimonials of French-speaking African students in Chengdu.  

Chinese Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones in Africa

Ana Cristina Alves, senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), published a brief analysis in June 2012 on Chinese Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones (ETCZ) in Africa. China approved eight of them: two each in Zambia and Nigeria and one in Ethiopia, Mauritius, Egypt and Algeria. As of June, only the ETCZ in Egypt was functional while the Chambishi ETCZ in Zambia was partly operational. About the time this piece was written, the ETCZ in Algeria was being cancelled.

Alves concluded that these ventures are at a crossroads. They face serious challenges; it is too early to declare them either successes or failures.

Click here to read the policy brief.