Exactly how exploitative are Chinese development activities on the African continent? What exactly is motivating the various resources-for-development deals inked by African governments over the last decade, and what strategies are these governments now adopting in the face of power imbalances with China? What is driving the mass migration of Chinese workers to the African continent, and why does everyone from Senegal seem to come from Henan?
This week on Sinica, we ask these questions and many more as Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn are joined in conversation with Howard French. If you've spent a while in China, you may have head of Howard as the author of a well-known book on Shanghai's architectural legacy, and lecturer on the subject. What you may not know is that he is also an expert on African development, and the new author of China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.
Recommendations
Jeremey Goldkorn
- "Here Is Xi’s China: Get Used To It," Arthur Kroeber, ChinaFile, December 11, 2014
Kaiser Kuo
Howard French
- Absolute Erotic, Absolute Grotesque, Mark Driscoll, Duke University Press Books, 2010