Participant Bios

On April 27, the UCLA Globalization Research Center-Africa (GRCA) in collaboration with the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies and the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) hosted a workshop on China-Africa relations.

"Rethinking Africa's 'China Factor': Identifying Players, Strategies, and Practices" offered a platform of discussion to critically engage the complex nature of China's renewed engagement in sub-Saharan Africa. In a cross-regional and interdisciplinary approach, the workshop intended to unpack notions of "China in Africa" which has reflected a view too easily limited only to China's resource diplomacy. These analyses were nuanced by focusing both on China's role in the larger international political economy to put its African engagement into perspective, both historically and today, and by considering African views on the multiple strategies and networks employed by Chinese state and non-state actors.

9:00 a.m. Coffee and Registration

9:15 Opening Remarks

Edmond Keller, UCLA Globalization Research Center-Africa

Yunxiang Yan, UCLA Center for Chinese Studies

9:30 Rethinking China’s Involvement in Africa

Ernest Wilson, University of Maryland

Framing the China-Africa Issue: What Do We Need to Know to Act Effectively?

Joshua Eisenman, American Foreign Policy Council
          The Communist Party of China’s Ties to African Political Parties

Yunxiang Yan, University of California, Los Angeles
         The Power of an Alternative: Implications of the Chinese Response to Globalization

Moderator and Commentator: Susan Shirk, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

11:00 Break

11:15 Chinese Business Ventures and African Development: Impacts and Implications of China’s Commercial and Investment Policies in Africa

Daniel Large, School of Oriental and African Studies
        Chinese Business and African Development: Exploring 'Post-Conflict' Dimensions

Deborah Brautigam, American University
        Can Chinese Investment Be a Catalyst for African Industrialization?

Sasha Gong, Solidarity Center, AFL-CIO
        Chinese Workers in Africa: Working Conditions and Potential Conflicts

Moderator: Edmond Keller, University of California, Los Angeles

12:45pm Lunch (Bunche 10383)

2:00 African Perspectives on China’s Involvement in Africa

Margaret Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
        Uganda-China Relations in the 21st Century.

Nina Sylvanus, University of California, Los Angeles
        “Chinese Devils?” Perceptions of the Chinese in Lomé's Central Market

Fantu Cheru, American University
        Love at First Sight! or Confused Priorities: The Evolving China-Africa Relations

Moderator: Boatamo Mosupyoe, California State University Sacramento

3:30 Break

3:45 Beyond China: Emerging Economies of the Global South and their Africa Policies

Sanusha Naidu, Stellenbosch University
        India’s African Relations: Playing Catch up With the Dragon

Wenran Jiang, University of Alberta
Comparing China's Engagement Strategies in Africa and Latin America

Yutaka Yoshino, World Bank
        Africa-Asia Trade and Investment: Challenges and Opportunities for African Economies

Moderator: James Tong, University of California, Los Angeles

5:15 Closing Remarks

Nina Sylvanus, University of California, Los Angeles

Download file: China-in-Africa_Workshop_Bios.pdf