The Hidden World of Chinese Manufacturing in Ethiopia

 The China Global South Project posted on 31 May 2024 a 40-minute audio discussion (and written transcript) with Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan, co-directors/producers of their recent documentary film titled "Made in Ethiopia."  Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden ask the questions.

The discussion and the documentary film focus on relationships between Ethiopian workers and Chinese managers at a Chinese industrial park outside Addis Ababa.  Some 100 Chinese companies have manufacturing facilities in the industrial park.  Filming took place over four years and was interrupted by both COVID-19 and the war between federal government forces and Tigray Defense Forces.

For more information on the film, visit the website.  It will be shown at the Tribeca Festival in New York on 6, 9, and 14 June, at the Sheffield Festival in the UK on 13 and 15 June, at DC/DOX in Washington on 16 June, at Encounters in Johannesburg, South Africa on 22 June, and at Encounters in Cape Town, South Africa on 29 June.

China To Build $1 Billion Industrial City in Tangier, Morocco

 Global Construction Review published on 27 July 2022 an article titled "Morocco and China Communications to Build $1bn Tangier Tech City" by David Rogers.

China and Morocco recently signed a framework agreement whereby China Communications Construction will build an industrial city in Tangier for some 200 Chinese companies.  The tech city project was first announced in 2016 and then quietly abandoned in 2018.  It has been revived with new partners and is scheduled for completion in 2027.  

Ethiopia: Challenges in the Garment Industry

New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights published in May 2019 a study titled "Made in Ethiopia: Challenges in the Garment Industry's New Frontier" by Paul M. Barrett and Doorothee Baumann-Pauly.

The report looks at the Hawassa Industrial Park built by a Chinese company and that now employs 25,000 workers. The authors conclude that China's economic success has not been matched by respect for human rights or political freedom.

Ethiopia: The Economics of a Chinese-built Industrial Park

The Guardian published on 5 December 2017 an article titled "Park Life: Workers Struggle To Make Ends Meet at Ethiopia's $250m Industrial Zone" by William Davison.

This is a journalistic account of the economic challenges faced by a textile company operating in Ethiopia's Hawassa Industrial Park, which was built by China. Low wages and cheap electricity attract companies to the industrial park, but relatively high transportation costs and a rising cost of living for workers are raising questions about the long-term profitably of the company.

Chinese View of African Industrialization (in French)

Thierry Pairault, School of Advanced Social Science Studies, posted on his website a translation from Chinese to French of a short commentary titled "What Path of Industrialization Must Africa Take" by Zhao Yining, a well-connected journalist, in the 27 April 2017 21st Century Economic Observer.

The author argues that Africa would be best served if it followed the example of Mao's pursuit of heavy industry begun in the early 1950s. What seems to be lost in this discussion is Africa's need for agricultural reform and modernization, which some economists argue should precede industrialization.