An African Enclave in China: The Making of a New Transnational Urban Space

Abstract

The paper, by three geographers, including a noted U.S.-based senior specialist on China's urban and human realm, presents the first known academic study of the country's African migrants. The authors examine the emergence of a new African community (primarily traders from West Africa) in the Xiaobei urban district of Guangzhou City, arguing that Xiaobei is not only a space for transacting transnational business but also a place of sojourn where African migrants struggle to make a living without local integration or assimilation. As a "non-state" gateway for burgeoning economic linkages between China and Africa, Xiaobei's spontaneous place-making is strengthened by the aspiring efforts of local entrepreneurs, at the same time that this new transnational space is challenged by an invisible wall between Africans and local residents due to cultural and social differences. The paper notes the impacts of globalization, which appears to be adding a new dimension (ethnicity) to the pattern of residential segregation of Chinese cities. Empirical evidence is provided by a series of surveys conducted by the authors since 2006 and particularly three in 2008. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F220, F230, J150, J610, O180. 5 figures, 2 tables, 81 references.

Keywords:

• transnational urban space
• residential segregation
• African traders
• ethnicity
• Guangzhou
• Xiaobei