With the pace of trade and investment picking up, coupled with closer international cooperation with Beijing through the G20, FOCAC and BRICS grouping, South Africa-China ties are assuming a significant position in continental and even global affairs. At the same time, it is a relationship of paradoxes, breaking with many of the assumptions that underpin contemporary analyses of ‘China-Africa’ ties. This edited volume examines the South Africa-China relationship through a survey of its diplomatic partnership, economic ties, and broader community relations. These important aspects that are often conflated as a single relationship, yet what is important to explore are how these components reflect different China-South Africa relationship(s), and how they intersect.
In South Africa-China Relations: Between Aspiration and Reality in a New Global Order, Phiwokuhle Mnyandu analyzes South Africa-China relations in the context of South Africa’s quest to reduce unemployment and transform its economy to ensure lasting social stability. Mnyandu uses trade patterns, analyses of governmental organizations and initiatives, and other socio-economic data to determine the extent to which developmental change or stasis has taken place as relations between South Africa and China have deepened. Tracing South Africa’s changing attitudes and policies towards China’s involvement, the impact of programs involving commodities trades on unemployment, and the prospective outcomes of an endogenous developmental policy, Mnyandu concludes by proposing a quadri-linear model as a tool for more comprehensive analyses of China’s relations not only with South Africa, but other African countries as well to avoid disinformation on Africa-China issues.
The year 2013 marked 15 years of the phenomenal diplomatic relations between South Africa and China. Th e relationship between South Africa and China has been developing since diplomatic ties were established on 1 January 1998. Since then, South Africa-China's bilateral relations have undergone rapid and all-facet development. There were frequent high level and other kinds of mutual exchanges between the two countries. The bilateral relations within the space of fifteen years have evolved from a Partnership to a Strategic Partnership, and then to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Furthermore, in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was set out in the Beijing Declaration signed in 2010, the two countries expressed the desire to further strengthen and deepen cooperation in both bilateral and regional affairs by establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership based on equality, mutual benefit and common development. The agreements range from political dialogue, trade, investment, mineral exploration, manufacturing, and agriculture to joint efforts in the global arena, such as in the United Nations, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). In recognition of the aforementioned bilateral achievements, on 19 September 2013, an Ambassadorial forum was co-hosted by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of South Africa, and the Africa Institute of South Africa - Human Science Research Council (AISA-HSRC). The objective of the Ambassadorial Forum was to provide an opportunity for reflections on the past and outlook on the future diplomatic relations between South Africa and China. This book presents the official keynote addresses which provide strategic thinking and foresight into the bilateral relations between the two countries. The main substance of the book is a collection of the Ambassadorial Forum papers that were submitted. The papers evaluate economic and political progress from a national interest perspective. Progress is measured against variables such as trade growth, people-to-people development, partnerships, and the implementation of state agreements, all against the background of the theory of national interest.
The recent rapid growth in China’s involvement in Africa is being promoted by both Chinese and African leaders as being conducted in a spirit of cooperation, friendship and equality. In the media and informally, however, a different, less harmonious picture emerges. This book explores how China and Africa really regard each other, how official images are manufactured, and how informal images are nevertheless shaped and put forward. The book covers a wide range of areas where China-Africa exchange exists, including diplomacy, technological cooperation, sport, culture and arts exchange. The book also discusses the historical development of the relationship and how it is likely to develop going forward.
The China-Africa relationship has so far largely been depicted as one in which the Chinese state and Chinese entrepreneurs control the agenda, with Africans and their governments as passive actors exercising little or no agency. This volume examines the African side of the relation, to show how African state and non-state actors increasingly influence the China-Africa partnership and, in so doing, begin to shape their economic and political futures. The influx of public and private sector Chinese actors across the African continent has led to a rise of opportunities and challenges, which the volume sets out to examine. With case studies from Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Zambia, and across the technology, natural resource, manufacturing, and financial sectors, it shows not only how African realities shape Chinese actions, but also how African governments and entrepreneurs are learning to leverage their competitive advantages and to negotiate the growing Chinese presence across the continent.
The geopolitical landscape of contemporary China-Africa relations has provoked wide media interest. After being conspicuously overlooked during the G8's purported 'Year of Africa', the topic generated wider debate in the build-up to the China-Africa Summit in Beijing in 2006. Despite this, China's deepening re-engagement with the African continent has been relatively neglected in academic and development policy circles. In particular, the concrete ways in which different Chinese actors are operating in different parts of Africa, their political dynamics and implications for African development as well as Western views of this phenomenon, have yet be explored in depth."China Returns to Africa" responds to this need by addressing the key issues in contemporary China-Africa relations. Taking its cue from the widely touted 'Chinese Scramble for Africa' and the accompanying claim of a 'new Chinese imperialism', the book moves beyond narrow media-driven concerns to offer one of the first far-ranging surveys of China's return to Africa, examining what this new relationship holds for diplomacy, trade and development.
This book considers the effect of China’s unprecedented economic growth and more prominent geopolitical role in the twenty-first century. Rising powers considerably alter international relations, leading to the emergence of a multipolar world order that impacts more traditional international players like the European Union (EU). China’s growing economic and diplomatic influence is particularly relevant in Africa, where it presents an alternative to conventional North-South relations and proposes a new type of South-South partnership. Stahl examines the EU’s foreign policy response regarding China’s growing presence in Africa, as well as the EU’s attempts to refocus attention on the African continent. Drawing on a rich body of evidence collected through fieldwork in China and Africa, and extensive expert interviews, the author sheds light on the novel trend of EU-China-Africa trilateral relations. The book offers a new analytical framework for the study of the EU’s foreign policy of engagement with emerging powers and will appeal to graduate students and scholars interested in the EU’s international role, international relations and development, as well as contemporary Chinese and African studies.
This book investigates the expanding involvement of China in security cooperation in Africa. Drawing on leading and emerging scholars in the field, the volume uses a combination of analytical insights and case studies to unpack the complexity of security challenges confronting China and the continent. It interrogates how security considerations impact upon the growing economic and social links China has developed with African states.
Beginning in earnest at the turn of the twenty-first century, China embarked on a robust multilevel engagement strategy with a number of African states on three simultaneous fronts--economic, political, and military. The push was predicated by Beijing's need to secure energy and natural resources to fuel its booming economy and bolster its position as the world's manufacturing hub. The depth of China's engagement cannot be understated, and its increasing stakes in the security dimension of Africa's myriad conflicts is affecting the geopolitical landscape of a continent that has been in the past an exclusive domain of the West. C hina in Africa examines the multifaceted effects of China's engagement with the continent, both its many risks and opportunities. It provides critical and relevant information for understanding the strategic drivers, trends, and the potential impact of China in Africa. The book covers Chinese soft and hard power, energy and arms relations, and China's relations with individual African countries: Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Ultimately, this volume serves to assist in improving U.S. policymakers' understanding of China's role in Africa and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to secure American interests in the region. Contributors include Mauro De Lorenzo (American Enterprise Institute), Drew Thompson (Nixon Center), Wenran Jiang (University of Alberta), Paul Hare (U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce), Susan M. Puska (Defense Group, Inc.), Ian Taylor (University of St. Andrews), Chris Zambelis (Helios Global, Inc.), David Shinn (GeorgeWashington University), Joshua Eisenman (American Foreign Policy Council), Yitzhak Shichor (University of Haifa), Greg Mills and Christopher Thompson (Brenthurst Foundation), Andrew McGregor (Aberfoyle International), and John C. K. Daly (United Press International).
This title studies the relationship between China and Africa by reviewing this history and current state of interactions, offering a valuable addition to the often heated and contentious debate surrounding China's engagement in Africa from a Chinese angle. Comprised of four parts, the book covers a kaleidoscopic range of topics on Sino-Africa relations based on materials from different languages. The first part looks into early historical contact between China and Africa and historiography of African Studies in China in recent decades. Part Two contains a broad probe into the origin, dynamics, challenges and cultural heritage of China's policies towards Africa. The third part explores the issue of development cooperation from both the theoretical and practical point of view, with a focus on the case of Chinese medical teams in Africa and China's technology transfer to the continent. The final part illustrates bilateral migration, discussing the history and life of Chinese immigrants in Africa and the African diaspora in China. The insights in this book as well as real life case studies will make this work an indispensable reference for academics, students, policy makers and general readers who are interested in international issues and area studies, especially China-Africa relations, China's rise and African development.
