Policy Briefings (Centre for Chinese Studies)

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Browsing Policy Briefings (Centre for Chinese Studies) by Subject "African Union"

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    African regional economic communities engagement with China
    (2014-09) Esterhuyse, Harrie Willie; Cisse, Daouda; Anthony, Ross; Burgess, Meryl
    The development of effective African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) stands to benefit African countries immensely. Transnational free trade regions, single customs unions, single markets, single currencies and other forms of political and economic integration have the potential to strengthen both inter-regional and international trade as well as creating more robust solutions to issues of food, climate, health and political security. Nevertheless, implementation has proved a formidable challenge: lack of adequate economic and political structures, institutions and policies has impeded progress. The ability to strengthen many aspects of RECs are up to member states: agreeing on a set of political and socio-economic strategic priorities at the core of regional integration, implementing mechanisms for cooperation and integration as well as ensuring compliance are all challenges which need to be negotiated internally. A crucial aspect is formulating coherent policy on how to engage with external actors. Along with the European Union and the United States of America, China is now an undeniably influential actor with regards to all African RECs. With a co-ordinated China policy, RECs can effectively foster regional integration through both increased trade capacity and infrastructural development. This policy brief focuses on three RECs - SADC (Southern African Development Community); ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the EAC (East African community) – as illustration of how Chinese investment has been harnessed.
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    Strategic partnerships and sustainable investments : how can China support the African Mining Vision
    (Stellenbosch University, Centre for Chinese Studies, 2013-05) Cristelle, Maurin
    China’s appetite for resources is set to increase as the country pursue its development path with demand potentially shifting towards a range of minerals and metals that sustain the leadership’s ambition for a greener and high-tech economy. Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI) in the resource sector have soared since the mid-2000s in parallel to its increased dependency on overseas resources. As a result of booming resource markets, Africa, among other resource-rich regions, has benefitted from a surge in global FDI flows including from China. In this context, the African Union formalised its resource -based development and industrialisation strategy embodied in the African Mining Vision (2009). The initiative is supported by international and bilateral development agencies but thus far has not echoed into China’s Africa policy discourses and cooperation frameworks. While the conundrum of extractive industries and sustainable development has been highlighted in the FOCAC Declarations, China’s formal commitment to sustaining the objective of the continent’s mining reform agenda has not yet come explicitly engrained into official channels of cooperation. This policy briefing explores the opportunities for China to engage formally with its African counterparts, and endorse the ideal and objectives of the African Mining Vision by supporting its implementation.