China Adds Another Cooperative Program with Africa

 Addis Ababa's Capital newspaper published on 26 April 2026 an article titled "Addis Ababa Hosts Inaugural China-Africa Entrepreneurs Summit, with AU Calling for Youth-led Growth" by Groum Abate.

The African Union in Addis Ababa hosted the inaugural China-Africa Entrepreneurs Summit focused on trade, investment, industrial cooperation, and entrepreneurship.  Remarks by Ethiopia's president and the AU Commission Chairperson underscored the importance of yet another formal link between China and Africa.  

Ethiopian/Eritrean Migrant Entrepreneurs Created Shopping District in South Africa

 The Conversation published on 26 October 2025 an article titled "Ethiopian Quarter: How Migrants Have Shaped a Thriving Shopping District in South Africa's City of Gold" by Tanya Zack.

Entrepreneurial migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea created a major shopping center in Johannesburg, South Africa, by repurposing abandoned buildings into more than 3,000 tiny shops that draw on global supply chains, mainly Chinese wholesalers.  The model has effectively turned the inner city into an inland port.   

Ten Reasons Why the Russia-Africa Summit Flopped

 The Africa Report published on 31 July 2023 a commentary titled "10 Reasons Why Putin's Africa Forum Flopped" by Ghanaian Bright Simons.

The author argues the Russia-Africa Summit flopped because Moscow failed to address substantial deficiencies in its offering to Africa.  More specifically:

1.  Unequal trade is getting worse.

2.  Russia has few real trade partners.

3.  There is little technology transfer.

4.  African students in Russia play a limited role in advancing Moscow's image.

5.  Russia lacks the capacity to follow through.

6.  The summit failed to deal with priority issues such as climate change.

7.  Russia ignored African civil society.

8.  The event lacked any serious African cultural expression.

9.  Most large African companies failed to participate.

10.  There was no engagement with African entrepreneurs and startups.

African Migrants in China

The Africa Studies Quarterly published by the University of Florida devoted its February 2018 issue to "China-Africa Relations: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives on African 'Migrants' in China."

The issue contains the following articles:

--Introduction - China-Africa Relations: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives on African "Migrants" in China by Agnes Ngoma Leslie
--African Students in China: Research, Reality, and Reflection by Li Anshan
--From Pioneers to Professionals: African Brokers in a Maturing Chinese Marketplace by Heidi Ostbo Haugen
--The Bridge Is Not Burning Down: Transformation and Resilience within China's African Diaspora Communities by Adams Bodomo
--Transient: A Descriptive Concept for Understanding Africans in Guangzhou by Dong Niu

Chinese Companies in Africa

Thierry Pairault, research director at France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, posted on 22 February 2018 part 3 of "China in Africa: Much Ado about Investment."

This posting looks at the confusion concerning the number of Chinese companies operating in Africa. While estimates are as high as 10,000 Chinese companies in Africa today, Pairault argues that most of them are small and micro businesses that are locally incorporated.

African Studies Quarterly - Special Issue on China-Africa

The December 2016 issue of the African Studies Quarterly published by the University of Florida is devoted to China-Africa relations. All of the articles are open access. They include the following:

--Introduction - China-Africa Relations: Political and Economic Engagement and Media Strategies by Agnes Ngoma Leslie.
--Sino-optimism in Africa by Seifudein Adem.
--China's Peace and Security Strategies in Africa: Building Capacity is Building Peace? by Lina Benabdullah.
--China and South Sudan's Civil War, 2013-2015 by Daniel Large.
--The Political Economy of Galamsey and Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Ghana by Richard Aidoo.
--China-Democratic Republic of Congo Relations: From a Beneficial to a Developmental Cooperation by Claude Kabembe.
--Zambia and China: Workers' Protest, Civil Society, and Role of Opposition Politics in Elevating State Engagement by Agnes Ngoma Leslie.
--Does Chinese Employment Benefit Africans? Investigating Chinese Enterprises and Their Operations in Africa by Tang Xiaoyang.
--Chinese Traders in Kampala: Status, Challenges, and Impact on Ugandan Society by Ward Warmerdam and Meine Pieter Van Djik.
--The Image of Africa in China: The Emerging Role of Chinese Social Media by Liangxing Li.
--The Dragon Shapes Its Image: A Study of Chinese Media Influence Strategies in Africa by Michael Leslie.

Criticism of Small Chinese Traders in Africa

The New Times, published in Rwanda, carried a story titled "The Raw Side of Chinese Traders" by Gitura Mwaura.

The author describes a growing negative reaction by African traders and even African governments to the influx of small Chinese traders who are competing with African traders. He cites examples from Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia, and Malawi.

Self-Employed Africans and Chinese in Guangzhou, China

The UCLA International Institute published on 1 October 2015 a study titled "Entrepreneurship and Interracial Dynamics: A Case Study of Self-Employed Africans and Chinese in Guangzhou, China" by Min Zhou, Tao Xu, and Shabnam Shenasi.

The study examines how interacting social forces shape interracial relations and mobility pathways for migrant entrepreneurs in Guangzhou.  It suggests that interactions between African and Chinese entrepreneurs are economically interdependent and socio-culturally contentious processes, shaping a myriad of intersecting identities and creating room for cooperation that transcends race, class, and migrant status.

Chinese Agribusiness Entrepreneurship in Ghana and Nigeria

The China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University published in January 2015 a policy brief titled "Chinese Agribusiness Entrepreneurship in Africa: Case Studies in Ghana and Nigeria" by Yang Jiao, a PhD candidate at the University of Florida. 

The policy brief explores the motivation, challenges, and initial social impact of a private Chinese agribusiness enterprise in Ghana and a Chinese state-owned enterprise in Nigeria. 

Chinese-owned Businesses in Congo Brazzaville

Scientific Research published in August 2013 a highly technical article titled "Determinants of Entrepreneurship Success: An Examination of Chinese-Owned Businesses in Congo Brazzaville" by Edwige Kamitewoko, Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville.

The study identified factors that enable Chinese entrepreneurs to succeed in Congo Brazzaville. The study sampled 200 respondents and modeled their responses using logistic regression. The findings showed the key factors in success to be guanxi (networking), education, and experience in trade and finance.

China-Africa: Migration Both Ways

The Secretariat of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states published a report in 2012 on Chinese migration to Africa and African migration to China. It looks at the movement of laborers, students, businesspersons, agricultural workers, and entrepreneurs.

Click here to read the report.