Divergent governance over African communities in two Chinese cities

ABSTRACT

This article examines the different approaches to governing sub-Saharan African traders in urban China due to varying urban growth strategies. Over the past two decades, an increasing number of African migrants have settled in Chinese cities, primarily Guangzhou and Yiwu, to run businesses focused on exports. However, they have been treated differently by local governments. The Guangzhou government's goal of attaining global city status has resulted in the mobilization of racial ideologies to create a socio-spatial hierarchy that marginalizes Africans, categorizing them as “undesirable” for the globalizing city and its “advanced” industries. Conversely, the Yiwu government's objective of becoming an international trading hub for Global South markets has led to a greater emphasis on African communities and a heightened sensitivity towards racial dynamics. This comparative analysis highlights how a city's position in the global economy and its corresponding growth strategies shape its interactions with migrant populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Africans in China
• migrant governance
• urban restructuring
• global cities
• racism
• African traders

Acknowledgements

I thank Nitsan Chorev, Dan Hirschman, José Itzigsohn, Laura López-Sanders, Andrew Schrank, and Mark C. Suchman for providing valuable feedbacks on various iterations of this paper. I express my deep appreciation to Honghuan Gu for her valuable suggestions and support throughout this research.

Disclosure statement

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

Ethics statement

This research includes human research participants. It was reviewed and approved by IRB at Brown University (case number: 2105003010).

Notes

1 “Coronavirus: Guangzhou cases prompt shutdown in ‘Little Africa’ trading hub”, South China Morning Post, April 7th, 2020 (Accessed at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3078861/coronavirus-guangzhou-cases-prompt-shutdown-little-africa); “Africans in Guangzhou are on edge, after many are left homeless amid rising xenophobia as China fights a second wave of coronavirus”, CNN, April 10th, 2020. (Accessed at https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/china/africans-guangzhou-china-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html)

2 “‘We Need Help’: Coronavirus Fuels Racism Against Black Americans in China”, New York Times, June 2nd, 2020 (Accessed at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/us/politics/african-americans-china-coronavirus.html); “China: Covid-19 Discrimination Against Africans”, Human Rights Watch, May 5th, 2020. (Accessed at https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/05/china-covid-19-discrimination-against-africans)

3 “African ambassadors complain to China over ‘discrimination’ in Guangzhou”, Reuters, April 11th, 2020. (Accessed at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-africa/african-ambassadors-complain-to-china-over-discrimination-in-guangzhou-idUSKCN21T0T7)

4 The report was titled (in English translation by author) “The Impact of the Pandemic Leaves Foreign Trade Hanging; Business Seeking Various Strategies to Let Commodities Cross the Sea”, Caixin Weekly, April 6th, 2020. (Accessed at https://weekly.caixin.com/2020-04-03/101538333.html)

5 The reported is titled (in English translation by author) “Improve Guangzhou’s Strategic Position in the Global City System”, People’s Daily Online, October 18th, 2017. (Accessed at http://house.people.com.cn/n1/2017/1018/c16422029594384.html)

6 “Guangdong’s Permanent Residence Application: Eligibility and Process”, China Briefing, April 21, 2022. (Accessed at: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-permanent-residence-application-guangdong-eligibility-criteria-process/)

7 The reported is titled (in English translation by author) “Where does Guangzhou’s International Style Come from?”, Southern China Online, August 24th, 2021. (Accessed at https://news.southcn.com/node_c3f70b7ca5/f385ae76c0.shtml)

8 “‘Yiwu China Commodity City’ Brand Stunningly Appeared In Times Square, New York”, AP News, November 6th, 2019. (Accessed at https://apnews.com/article/business-china-new-york-global-trade-morgan-stanley-d0dc9406362d4363ae0d265b174aff9b)

9 I use the term “Global South” throughout the article as an analytical meta category. It does not intend to overlook the heterogeneity with the category but to emphasize the shared socio-economic marginality by a group of nations under the global hegemonic power (Haug, Braveboy-Wagner, and Maihold 2021).

10 Official website of the Dubai Traders’ Market can be accessed at: https://dtm.ae/yiwu-market/.

11 This is a neutral way of categorizing someone as a foreigner.

12 The report was titled (in English translation by author) “Xi Jinping’s speech in the China-Africa Business Forum”, Foreign Minister Administration of PRC, December 14th, 2015. (Accessed at: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa%20eng/wjdt%20665385/zyjh%20665391/t1321559.shtml)

13 According to the “Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China” stipulated in 2012, foreigners who reside in China shall register their residence permits with the local police within the 24 hours after check-in.

14 These Sub-Saharan African countries include Tanzania, Uganda, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Benin, Guinea, Liberia, and Mozambique.

15 A Chinese digital app that is equivalent to WhatsApp in its function of communication.

16 Xinhua News Net, September 28th, 2015. (Accessed at: http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-09/28/c_128272873.htm)