Chinas Aid to Africa
Although China has rapidly increased foreign aid to Africa and is now a relatively major player in the developmental assistance regime, little is still known regarding how China delivers its foreign aid, and even less about how this foreign aid actually works in the recipient countries.
This book, extensively utilising Chinese sources, many of which have not been available before, examines the effectiveness and sustainability of Chinas foreign aid in Africa, as well as the political, economic and diplomatic factors that influence Chinese aid disbursement policies. The book argues that a nebulous notion of friendship, however ill-defined, is a key factor in Chinese aid, something which is often overlooked by Western scholars. Through a detailed examination of both the decision-making process in Chinese aid disbursements, as well as an examination of specific case studies in West Africa, this book improves our understanding of Chinas foreign aid policies towards Africa. It finds that there are profound shortcomings in Chinas foreign aid at present which, despite the protestations of friendship and solidarity, undermine Beijings effectiveness as an actor in the developmental assistance enterprise in Africa.
This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of development studies, African studies, China-Africa relations and more broadly to international relations.
Zhangxi Cheng is Research Fellow at the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, UK.
Ian Taylor is Professor in International Relations and African Political Economy at the University of St. Andrews (UK); Chair Professor at Renmin University of China (China); Professor Extraordinary at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and Professor at the Centre of African Studies, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).
Routledge Studies in African Politics and International Relations
Edited by Daniel C. Bach
Emile Durkheim Centre for Comparative Politics and Sociology, Sciences Po Bordeaux
3 The Politics of Elite Corruption in Africa
Roger Tangri and Andrew M. Mwenda
4 Reconstructing the Authoritarian State in Africa
George Klay Kieh, Jr. and Pita Ogaba Agbese
5 Critical Perspectives on African Politics
Liberal interventions, state-building and civil society
Edited by Clive Gabay and Carl Death
6 Homegrown Development in Africa
Reality or illusion?
Chukwumerije Okereke and Patricia Agupusi
7 Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa
The game of the rules
Edited by Tom de Herdt and Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan
8 African Migrants and Europe
Managing the ultimate frontier
Lorenzo Rinelli
9 Africa in Global International Relations
Emerging approaches to theory and practice
Edited by Paul-Henri Bischoff, Kwesi Aning and Amitav Acharya
10 Regionalism in Africa
Genealogies, institutions and trans-state networks
Daniel C. Bach
11 Chinas Aid to Africa
Does Friendship Really Matter?
Zhangxi Cheng and Ian Taylor
First published 2017
by Routledge
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2017 Zhangxi Cheng and Ian Taylor
The right of Zhangxi Cheng and Ian Taylor to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cheng, Zhangxi, author. | Taylor, Ian, 1969author.
Title: Chinas aid to Africa: does friendship really matter? / Zhangxi Cheng
and Ian Taylor.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. |
Series: Routledge studies in African politics and international relations; 11 |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016053636 | ISBN 9781138630390 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315209432 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Economic assistance, ChineseAfrica. | ChinaForeign
economic relationsAfrica. | AfricaForeign economic relationsChina. |
ChinaForeign relationsAfrica. | AfricaForeign relationsChina.
Classification: LCC HC800 .C43 2017 | DDC 338.91/5106dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053636
ISBN: 978-1-138-63039-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-20943-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Unless otherwise specified, the term Chinas foreign aid in this study refers to Chinas Official Bilateral Development Assistance . It therefore differs from Chinas other foreign aid activities such as Military Aid, Humanitarian Aid, Peacekeeping and participation in International Multilateral Aid.
Whilst this study adopts official translations for titles and policies that were originally introduced in Chinese, not all of these have an official English translation. Whilst some of the interviewees spoke English as their first or second language, the majority of the interviews in this study were conducted in Chinese. In these situations, the information obtained in Chinese has been translated into English by Zhangxi Cheng. Important titles, events, documents and quotations are accordingly noted in the body of the text and endnotes in their original language for further clarification.