Chinese and Western Investments in Africa: A Comparative Analysis

ABSTRACT

Chinese investments in African countries have increased massively in the last two decades. Critics have been vociferous for or against the Afro-Chinese relationship depending on their convictions making it a bit difficult to have an objective analysis on the issue. African nations and their leaders have repeatedly shown preference for Western culture and civilization due to or despite their respective and common historical experiences. When given the option, African states tended to embrace Western companies and businesses. This can be seen in the larger majority of Western businesses established in the continent compared to those from other parts of the world. Foreign direct investments into Africa have also been traditionally from the West. But this preference for the West at least since the age of independence has not yielded the anticipated results. And this is the main reason why the Chinese are seen as an alternative today. Using the most recent research and data on this topic, this paper endeavours to analyse the nascent Chinese policies and investments in Africa comparing and contrasting their successes and failures compared to those of Western countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese Africa investments
• Africa and globalization
• Chinese Africa FDI
• Afro-Chinese economic development
• Western FDI in Africa

Disclosure Statement

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

Notes on Contributor

Peterson Nnajiofor is an associate professor of American and English Studies at the Department of Foreign Languages Applied to Business (Département des langues étrangères appliquées) of the University of Lorraine in Metz, France and a research fellow at the IDEA Research Center. His research interests focus on the activities of transnational corporations, their evolution and influence on the society at different levels. His most recent research on Globalization, the Sharing economy and ISDS clauses in Free Trade Agreements have been presented in international conferences at various universities notably at the New School for Social Research, New York, Université Paris 3 La Sorbonne, Paris, Université Paris Ouest La Défense, Nanterre, University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Berkeley, Saint Petersburg State University, the University of Havana, Cuba, Howard University, Washington D.C., Wuhan University of Technology and Renmin University, China.