In the present 21st century the global distribution of power among countries seems to be changing. While since World War I predominantly the United States of America have begun to gain worldwide importance especially politically and economically, it is currently experiencing a slow loss of power due to a number of reasons. One of such is the development in Asia towards economic liberalization and linked with it the rise of China. In particular after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the Asian country has introduced several reforms under its new political leader Deng Xiaoping that led to ongoing fast economic growth until today. Together with the increasing economic strength China aims for more international influence and recognition as a world power. A demonstration of such claim could be seen in the media on October 1st 2009 when China was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the finding of its People’s Republic in the form of the biggest military parade ever.
In order to turn this signal of a new global distribution of power into reality, China can not solely rely on a strong economy but needs to establish international political ties too. One reason concerns the geological structure of the largest Asian country because it can be considered to be poor in natural resources. As a result it needs to secure its economy by importing those and hence in the search for international partners it decided to focus also on the African continent.
While in the beginning of the 20th century the European hegemony was unbowed in Africa and no country could withstand the traded goods from Europe this development changed drastically just six decades later. The former European dominance on the African continent yielded a rise in influence from other countries like China and India. Or more generally in the words of a Financial Times reporter: “Europe was the past, the US is the present and a China-dominated Asia the future of the global economy.” If this quotation will come true remains to be seen, but China is certainly working towards that goal and among other things the (re)establishment of close relations with many African states is one part of the current governmental strategy.
The following master thesis shall be devoted to the phenomenon of China’s return to the African continent since the mid 1990’s. The research question which shall be answered at the end is “what is the impact of China’s engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa with a country focus.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Research methodology
- Literature survey
- Trade theories - Reasons pro trade
- Adam Smith - Absolute advantage
- Ricardo Comparative advantage
- Heckscher - Ohlin theory
- Krugman - New trade theory
- Porter's diamond
- Investment theories
- Product life cycle theory
- Oligopolistic reaction theory
- O-L-I paradigm
- Overview of study results about FDI
- Theoretical gain through FDI
- China's early reach out to Africa
- Beginning of the Sino African relations
- Sino African relations from 1949 – 1989
- Chinese Diplomacy serving ideological aims
- Chinese Diplomacy serving political aims
- Setback in Chinese struggle for Africa in the late 1960's and the revival in the 1970's
- Begin of a new political era after Mao Zedong's death
- Tiananmen and its impact on the Sino African relationship
- Development aid as a political instrument from 1950's 1990's
- China and it's return to Africa
- Overview of the Asian giant
- Impression of Africa's macro environment
- China's political cooperation with Africa
- China's developmental cooperation with Africa
- China's position in the international aid system
- Different types of development aid and its amplitude
- Is China stimulating “bad governance\" in Africa?
- China's economical cooperation with Africa
- Trade with Africa
- Financing and investing practices in Africa
- Migration into Africa
- China's influence in Nigeria
- Country profile of Nigeria
- China's political relations with Nigeria
- China's development aid relations with Nigeria
- China's economic relations with Nigeria
- Trade with Nigeria
- Financing and investment practices in Nigeria
- Migration into Nigeria
- Analysis of primary research results
- Evaluation of China's presence in southern Africa
- Analysis of the Sino-African relationship
- Recommendations
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This dissertation examines the Chinese presence in Africa and its influence on the African people, focusing on China's engagement in Africa from World War II to the present day. It explores the political, development aid, and economic relationships between both cultures. The thesis relies heavily on secondary research but includes a primary research chapter. The work concludes with recommendations for maximizing the mutual benefits of south-south cooperation.
- China's economic and political engagement in Africa
- The impact of China's engagement on African development
- The dynamics of the relationship between China and African nations
- The role of trade, investment, and development aid in the relationship
- The potential for mutual benefit through south-south cooperation
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The dissertation begins with a review of relevant literature on trade and investment theories. It then explores China's early engagement with Africa, outlining the historical development of the relationship from the 8th century AD to the 1990s. Chapter 4 analyzes China's return to Africa in the late 20th century, discussing China's political, developmental, and economic cooperation with the continent. Chapter 5 focuses on China's influence in Nigeria, examining its political, development aid, and economic relations with the country. The work concludes with an analysis of China's presence in southern Africa and recommendations for maximizing mutual benefits.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key themes of this work are China's influence in Africa, China's presence in Africa, and China's engagement in Africa. The dissertation explores the historical, political, economic, and developmental aspects of this relationship, with a particular focus on the role of trade, investment, and development aid.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christian Baumann (Autor:in), 2010, The impact of the Chinese engagement in southern Africa with a country focus on Nigeria, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/156469
