By David Hoffmann, Megan Riley, Michaella Lawrence & Ting-Xuan Teresa Yong

Little introductory clip from the BBC (Please be aware this is analysed through an economic/international relations lens)

Chinese development projects in Africa are said to be aimed at improving the economy of the continent and alleviating poverty. However, the questions remain as to what are China’s intentions of investing in Africa and how do they compare to the intentions of other Euro-American aid projects in the continent? Rotberg (2008) states that China and Africa’s relationship dates to the 13th century and is currently in a third era of heavy engagement. Whilst Chinese and other countries’ aid projects may have different intentions, the most important opinion of foreign aid in Africa is arguably that of the locals, whose lives aid projects directly impact. To highlight, The AFROBarometer (2020) states that ‘on average across 18 countries, China trails the United States as Africans’ preferred development model (32% vs. 23%)’. This blog post aims to look at the intentions and social impacts of Chinese aid in Africa and how this compares to Euro-American aid in the continent.

Scholars have widely discussed patterns of development by actors from the Global North in countries in the Global South. Traditionally, Euro-American forms of developmental aid have tended to focus on more political and humanitarian responses. By focusing on the political, two patterns of development can be discussed here. First, anthropologist Tania Li (1999) states that the ‘rationale for development as an activity of nation states draws on the more general logic of governmentality’. Governmentality is the idea of the nation-state using techniques to govern the population through societal institutions and the liberality of freedom. Second, in contrast, Mark Duffield (2014) discusses the impact of ‘underdevelopment’. He states that the conditions of global liberal governance were formed under neo-liberal ideals and created a powerful global economic system that allowed no alternative system to develop. Therefore, development has ‘been redefined in terms of radical transformation of Southern societies in order to make them fit into this system’ (Duffield, 2014, p.30). This suggests that Euro-American models of development are based upon changing the behaviours of countries to which they provide aid, in order to encourage the adoption of ‘western’ values. Whether it be governmentality or underdevelopment, we can observe that the definition of development is political and redefined in different contexts.

Maunganidze and Malila (2013) describe the Chinese model of development in Africa as a ‘soft power’ approach. With reference to Foucault’s work on ‘global governmentality’, they describe how ‘China present(s) itself as a non-policing development partner...in order to expand and consolidate its political and economic interests’ (Maunganidze & Malilia, 2013: 91). This contrasts the Euro- American model of development previously outlined. The Chinese model of development is not entwined with issues of humanitarianism or politics. Instead, ‘China is against any form of meddling in the internal affairs of another country’ (Maunganidze & Malila, 2013: 92).Gould (2005) perhaps most accurately describes Chinese investment in African development in business and economic terms. Chinese-African relations are a product of a partnership mentality, where the goal is not to develop politically, but rather to ensure ‘complicity in a policy regime that reflects the aims of external creditors’ (Gould, 2015: 65). Economic development and profit is prioritized over political affairs. Of course, this approach comes with its own complications. The Chinese model of non-interference does not only ‘[frustrate] international mechanisms to fight human rights abuses’ (Maunganidze & Malila, 2013: 96), but also brings about significant social changes to aid recipients’ everyday life.

For example, Basile Ndjio’s research in the red light districts of Douala, Cameroon (2009, 2017) shows how China’s aid projects in the city affect local communities. Due to the increased development and trade relations between China and Cameroon in recent years, the city of Douala has not only witnessed the mass importation of cheap and depreciated Chinese commodities, but also an undesired influx of Chinese sex workers. The migration came as a response to the settlement of a large number of single Chinese male migrants working for Chinese-led infrastructure projects in the area. With their services at half the price of the local sex workers, the activities of Chinese sex workers pose a threat to livelihoods of local sex workers who have long held monopoly in the trade. Ndjio notes that this rising conflict in the sex work industry in Douala is not isolated, but ‘one of the iconic representations’ of the intimate social impacts of the growing Chinese presence in Africa since the late 1990s (2009, p.607). Therefore, although the Chinese development approach is theoretically less intrusive, we must not overlook how the movement of Chinese goods and people into Africa can threaten to destabilise the everyday life of local communities.

From a different perspective, China’s recent auto-portrayal of its involvement in development partnerships and ‘the West’s’ largely suspicious assessment of that, affect both the identity of Chinese diaspora in Africa and new migrants who do not consider themselves part of a government agenda. In their ethnography on the agri-food sector, Cook et al. show how new Chinese migrants, working in agriculture, are constantly faced with accusations of land-grabbing and being part of China’s ‘silent army’ (2016, p.66). The reproduction of those narratives in the media also forces third-generation immigrants, who consider themselves integrated African citizens, into a struggle with adapting to shifting identities. Obert Hodzi points out how there are ‘multiple identities among the “Chinese” in Africa’, but that contemporary narratives result in a false homogenisation, which might jeopardise already successful coexistences and reduce the chance of integration for new migrants (2018, p. 2).

In conclusion, while Euro-American approaches may be criticised as imperialistic and intrusive, the Chinese approach of partnership also brings about significant changes to aid recipients’ social lives and structures. This is especially so given that Chinese aid work mainly comes in the form of infrastructure development and trade agreements. These pragmatic relations situate Chinese migrants and activities deeply within local communities, impacting everyday lives at different levels. There is little ethnographic research on these micro-level changes that come with China’s increased engagement in Africa. Therefore, we think that the anthropological analysis on Chinese development aid should expand beyond deconstructing narratives and use a more fine-grained lens.

References

Cook, S., Lu, J., Tugendhat, H. & Alemu, D. (2016). 'Chinese Migrants in Africa: Facts and Fictions from the Agri-Food Sector in Ethiopia and Ghana', China and Brazil in African Agriculture, 81, pp. 61-70.

Duffield, M. (2014[2001]) ‘The Merging of Development and Security’, in Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security. London: Zed Books, pp. 22-42.

Gould, J. (2005). ‘Timing, Scale And Style: Capacity As Governmentality In Tanzania’, in Mosse, D. and Lewis, D. (eds.) The Aid Effect: Giving and Governing in International Development. London: Pluto Press, pp. 61-84.

Hodzi, O. (2019). 'Chinese in Africa: ‘Chineseness’ and the complexities of identities', Asian Ethnicity, 20(1), pp. 1-7.

Li, T. (1999) ‘Compromising Power: Development, Culture, and Rule in Indonesia’, Cultural Anthropology, 14(3), pp. 295–322.

Maunganidze, L. and Malila, I. (2013). ‘Emerging Complexities and Ambiguities of Chinese Aid: the Case of Southern Africa’, Botswana Journal of Business, 6 (1), pp. 89-100.

Ndjio, B. (2009). ‘‘Shanghai Beauties’ and African Desires: Migration, Trade and Chinese Prostitution in Cameroon’, European Journal of Development Research, 21 (4), pp. 606-621.

Ndjio, B. (2017). ‘Sex and the Transnational City: Chinese Sex Workers in the West African City of Douala’, Urban Studies, 54 (4), pp. 999-1015.

Rotberg, R. (Ed.). (2008). China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

Sanny, J. & Selormey E. (2020) ‘Africans regard China’s influence as significant and positive, but slipping’. Afrobarometer Dispatch.