Research Reports (Centre for Chinese Studies)
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- ItemAfrican students in China : an exploration of increasing numbers and their motivations in Beijing(Stellenbosch University, Centre for Chinese Studies, 2012-09) Ferdjani, HannaneThis report focuses on the growing phenomenon of African students migrating to China for their studies, from a holistic and quantitative point of view, specifically, their perceptions and experiences in the system of Higher Education cooperation and exchange between African and China. The trend of educational migration has accelerated and been institutionalized since the turn of the millennium, which emphasizes the need for up-to-date research. This report is the result of Phandulwazi nge China scholar Hannane Ferdjani’s work at the CCS between May and July 2012. She conducted fieldwork in Beijing in June this year. This research report is the first fruit of the CCS scholarship programme Phandulwazi nge China (“Knowledge about China” in isiXhosa). The scholarships offer opportunities for African researchers to spend research time at the Centre in order to advance mutual learning and a better exchange on interpretations of political, economic or environmental impact of Chinese engagement in Africa. This programme is kindly supported by Open Society Foundation.
- ItemAssessing China’s role in foreign direct investment in Southern Africa(Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University, 2011-03) Van Der Lugt, Sanne; Hamblin, Victoria; Burgess, Meryl; Schickerling, Elizabeth; Oxfam, Hong KongPopular claims link the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) almost automatically to economic development. This notion increased in prominence with the rise of neo-liberal thinking in the 1980s. It was also fuelled by the success of the so-called Asian Tigers achieving high growth rates, coupled with poverty reduction through an outward market-policy orientation. This study explores FDI in Southern Africa and Zambia specifically, based on the analysis of policy documents and interviews with a small sample of twelve Chinese and African government officials, CSO representatives as well as private sector representatives.
- ItemChinese investors – saving the Zambian textile and clothing industry(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-10) Eliassen, Ina; Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese StudiesIn the context of reduced aid from traditional donors and the changing modalities of aid, FDI from non-traditional development partners as China has become an important driver for development agenda’s in African countries. As FDI does not automatically lead to economic growth and poverty reduction, and since there is no single “Chinese model” for economic cooperation, it is up to African leaders to ensure institutions and policies to reap the benefit of FDI. This paper sets out to further our understanding of how Chinese investments in the Zambian textile and clothing industry impacts economic development, as a sector important for employment creation and ultimately poverty alleviation. Overall, this paper demonstrates the challenges to industrialise in the context of a liberal market and the globalised international economy. Despite Chinese engagements in manufacturing, Zambia remains an exporter of unprocessed natural resources and loses out in terms of economic development from TC manufacturing activities.
- ItemChinese presence in real estate in South Africa and Mauritius(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, Centre for Chinese Studies, 2016-02) Cowaloosur, Honita; Centre for Chinese Studies. Research ReportsChina has recently taken the global community by surprise with a surging interest in overseas real estate investment. While United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Canada and Australia are the usual prized destination of these investments, China’s general economic activities give enough reasons to believe that Africa will soon be emerging as one of the new real estate investment destinations. Preliminary statistics from research centres, and media and public discourses highlight South Africa and Mauritius as two of the most popular destinations of Chinese real estate investment. This paper investigates the substantiality of these hypotheses and assesses the impact Chinese real estate activities have on the socio-economic environment of the respective two countries. It also provides policy propositions that would ease these prospective challenges to the two societies.
- ItemEvaluating China's FOCAC commitments to Africa and mapping the way ahead(Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2010-01) Hon, Tracy; Jansson, Johanna; Shelton, Garth; Liu, Haifang; Burke, Christopher; Kiala, CarineThis report investigates emerging trends, opportunities and challenges in China‟s engagement with five African countries through FOCAC, namely Angola, the DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. The report also outlines China‟s interaction with two African regional organisations; the EAC and SADC. Fieldwork for the study was carried out from January to August 2009. The aim of the research was to provide African stakeholders with accurate information and commentary on the implementation of the commitments made at the 2006 Beijing FOCAC summit in order to improve their preparedness ahead of FOCAC 2009. Based on the field research observations, country specific recommendations are provided seeking to improve the developmental benefits of each country‟s relations with China. Overall, the implementation of the Beijing Action Plan in the five countries is fairly advanced. In Angola, focus has been placed on communications infrastructure. In Sino-Congolese relations, road infrastructure and ICT are the areas which have received the most attention. In the case of Mozambique, the construction of public facilities has been the salient feature. Communications infrastructure and public facilities has been the most important characteristic of Sino-Tanzanian relations. In Uganda, focus has been on the construction of public facilities and an ICT backbone. Regarding China‟s engagement with the EAC and SADC, it is noted that there has been very little formal engagement to date. It was suggested by officials of the two Secretariats that engagement with China would be greatly beneficial to the development of the two regions respectively. In the concluding analysis, six issues are identified as pivotal to whether or not Sino-African relations post the 2009 FOCAC meeting will be beneficial for Africa‟s peoples. The most important issue pertains to employment equity in the African countries, notably the recruitment of local workers, labour rights and skills development. Second, it is imperative that Sino-African MSME joint ventures be established in order to build African capacity and ensure technology transfer. Third, the language barrier is a major challenge across the board and it must therefore be ensured that Mandarin language training gain significant traction in African countries. Fourth, coordination between the relevant African government departments and the Chinese Embassy should be improved and it is suggested that this could be done by means of appointing China coordinators in key African government departments. Fifth, it is recommended that African civil society be included to a greater extent in consultations between African leaders and Chinese government- and company representatives in order to prevent a popular backlash against the Chinese presence in Africa. Lastly, it is recommended that African countries should require that a greater share, if not all, of the building material used to construct buildings donated by the Chinese government should be sourced in African economies. It is anticipated that this approach, even if it implies that fewer buildings will be implemented, will generate greater developmental synergies in African countries. It is believed that these six issues should be taken into account by all African leaders in order to pave the way for a new Sino-African partnership, beneficial to all Africans.
- ItemSouth African relations with China and Taiwan Economic realism and the “One-China” doctrine(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2014-02) Grimm, Sven; Kim, Yejoo; Anthony, Ross; Centre for Chinese Studies. Policy BriefingSince 2009, China is South Africa’s largest bilateral trade partner with political relations between Beijing and Pretoria deepening in recent years. The Chinese government position claims it is a ‘win-win’ situation, but is South Africa maximizing its benefits in the relationship? The research report situated the current relationship within the broader context of South Africa’s foreign and economic policies toward China (the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong) as well as identifying challenges and opportunities marking the engagement. The launch of the report in Cape Town (21 February) invited debate and reflection on the current and future state of South Africa-China relations.
- ItemSouth Africas changing foreign policy in a multi-polar world - the influence of China and other emerging powers(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2015-09) Anthony, Ross; Tembe, Paul; Gull, Olivia; Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese StudiesIn recent years, critics of the South African government have accused it of increasingly abandoning its commitments to human rights and democracy in its international engagements. In addition to this being viewed as a turn toward an ‘African agenda’, the growing geopolitical influence of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping has also been attributed to this perceived shift. As South Africa’s largest trading partner, China in particular has been singled out as exerting influence on relations with other countries. This mini-report discusses certain evidence related to this shift, including South Africa’s engagement with issues of human rights as well as its relationship with China. South Africa’s changing behaviour needs to be grasped within the context of broader geopolitical shifts and how a shared experience of colonialism unifies these new partners.
- ItemTransparency of Chinese aid : an analysis of the published information on Chinese external financial flows(Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2011-08) Grimm, Sven; Rank, Rachel; Schickerling, Elizabeth; McDonald, MatthewThere are many myths and misconceptions about the level of information publically available on Chinese efforts and activities in the developing world. With the growing momentum around ‘aid transparency’ since the Third High Level Forum on aid effectiveness (HLF-3) in Accra in 2008, and the preparations for HLF-4 being held in Busan later this year, this paper on China’s aid information was commissioned to provide a firmer footing for the discussions going forward. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to map and assess the levels of aid information made available across Chinese agencies that engage in various forms of international cooperation. The paper explores opportunities to improve publicly available information on Chinese foreign assistance and how to ensure comparability with other donors.