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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Chinese investments in Africa: catalyst, competitor, or capacity builder?
| Panel |
76. Invited AEGIS panel: The role of China and India in Africa
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| Paper ID | 344 |
| Author(s) |
Kragelund, Peter
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| Paper |
View paper (PDF)
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| Abstract | Chinese presence in African economies has regained its importance. While the end of the cold war left large parts of Africa marginalised in the eyes of western governments and private investors, ‘new players’ took over. Within the last few years, Chinese economic and political interests in Africa have increased considerably. China’s significant presence in Africa in areas such as resource extraction, development aid, and military support, as well as in business has triggered massive media interest. Nevertheless, hardly any academic analyses of the consequences for local development of this trend have been conducted. Rather, the current debate is characterised by the conflicting political interests of China and the United States.
Four main reasons for China’s current interest in Africa have been singled out: its energy dependence; its desire to expand national representations abroad; its concern with western, especially American, hegemony; and its search for new markets and investment opportunities. While the first three issues increasingly come to the fore also in academic publications, the last issue has only received scholarly attention very recently. A number of publications recognise that trade between China and Africa is increasing and attempt to examine the broader consequences of this trend, but although some publications mention that Chinese companies, assisted by the Chinese government, are investing in Africa, few have attempted to examine the consequences of this trend.
This paper contributes to an improved understanding of the effects of Chinese Foreign Direct Investments on local producers in African economies. In order to achieve this, this paper uses Zambia as a paradigmatic case: China has been present in Zambia since independence in 1964; Zambia is one of the three most important destinations of Chinese FDI in Africa; Chinese companies currently invest in most sectors of the Zambian economy; more than 180 Chinese companies have invested in Zambia; and accumulated Chinese investment in Zambia reached USD 316 million in 2006, making China the third largest investor in Zambia after South Africa and Great Britain. |
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