Chinese FDI and impacts on technology transfer, linkages, and learning in Africa: evidence from the field

ABSTRACT

Based on a brief review of the existing literature on knowledge transfer between Chinese and Africans, this introductory essay sheds light on the purpose, methodologies, and main findings of this special issue. Aiming to investigate the impacts of Chinese FDI projects on technology learning in Africa, a team of SAIS-CARI researchers conducted field research in six African countries. To our knowledge, this is the first time such a comprehensive analysis on China-Africa knowledge transfer has been carried out. Our research finds that the majority of investments in agricultural and manufacturing comes from private small-to-medium sized companies that are driven by market factors and operate outside the Chinese government. The research suggests that Chinese investments in Africa have contributed to hiring and training local employees, demonstrated advanced technologies, and cooperated with local enterprises; however,  the effectiveness and sustainability of the knowledge transfer varies across different sectors and countries.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• Africa
• FDI
• technology transfer
• training
• knowledge learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The full research team included TANG Xiaoyang, Yunnan CHEN, Ying XIA, Henry TUGENDHAT, Keyi TANG, David LANDRY, Allison GRANDE, Sara FISCHER, James SAYRE, Margaret McMILLAN, GIRUM Abebe Tefera, Josephat KWEKA. The project’s principal investigator was Deborah BRAUTIGAM.

2. Under the auspices of the Development and Economic Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) funded by Department for International Development and the Economic and Social Research Council (DFID-ESRC), Grant reference: ES/M004074/1.

3. Most of the SAIS-CARI researchers have written up their preliminary findings in working papers and policy briefs that can be found on the SAIS-CARI publications page.

4. These issues were covered in multiple working papers and can be found on the SAIS-CARI website; research projects funded by the DFID-ESRC grant are identified as such.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/M004074/1].

Notes on contributors

Yoon Jung Park

Yoon Jung Park is a leader in the growing field of China/Africa studies and one of the foremost experts of Chinese people in Southern Africa. She is the author of A Matter of Honour: Being Chinese in South Africa (Jacana/Lexington Books) and dozens of articles and book chapters in scholarly publications and editor/co-editor of several special China-Africa issues of respected journals. She is currently completing her second book, focused on “new” Chinese migrants in Africa, as well as a number of other writing projects. She holds a number of positions, including Adjunct Professor of African Studies at Georgetown University’s School for Foreign Service, non-resident research associate at the China Africa Research Initiative at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Executive Director of the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China Research Network.

Xiaoyang Tang

Xiaoyang Tang is a professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University. His research interests include political philosophy, China’s engagement in the developing countries and global modernization process. He is the author of Coevolutionary Pragmatism: Approaches and Impacts of China-Africa Economic Cooperation (Cambridge University Press 2020).