A Center-Periphery Perspective on Africa-China's Emerging Economic Links

Place-based and Place-bound Realities: A Chinese Firm's Embeddedness in Tanzania

“…This is likely due to the structural embeddedness of the firm as it is pushed to imitate Westernized organizational structures and business knowledge and to capture opportunities in the destination market. In Tanzania, BETA realized a joint venture opportunity in the broadcasting segment of a transitional niche market that is largely advantageous to an overall brand penetration into the country, despite a lack of managerial capacity and familiarity with the socio-cultural setting Maswana 2009). The findings reveal the firm's hybrid nature.…”

“…In the last few years, the image of the African awakening, "le reveil africain", has underlined the need for African nations to demand that incoming Chinese enterprises utilize local labour forces to mitigate unemployment on the continent (Ndikumana 2010). With the increasing ease with which African economies access international, national, and regional markets through growing Chinese investment on the continent, Chinese-African joint ventures are becoming more mutually accommodating and not just purely one-directional Africa-China flows of raw materials (Maswana 2009). An example is the African telecommunications industry which, despite its non-resourceintensity, is able to attract and maintain domestic capital gains from increasing foreign direct investment (FDI).…”

Southern voices in management and organization knowledge

“…A key to China's continued growth is access to energy and mineral resources and it appears that Africa has become the main site for their attainment. Over the last decade, China has become one of Africa's most important partners for trade and economic cooperation but has also intensified its cultural and political relations with the continent (Lumumba-Kasongo, 2010;Maswana, 2009). Because of the magnitude of China's activities and investments in the continent, scholars have begun to debate the nature, motives and intent of its involvement.…”

“…Its paradoxical position in the current geopolitical dynamic presents a challenge in considering what effects its rise will have on Africa. Some scholars worry that China will replicate the hegemonic tendencies of countries of the West, extracting resources with little benefit to Africa's development (Maswana, 2009). Others argue that China's engagement with Africa will make a positive contribution to the continent's development (Shaw et al, 2007).…”

Empirical Analysis of Trade Effects of China’s Outward FDI to Africa

“…The China-Africa traded goods changed from clothing, footwear and light manufactured goods that China exported to Africa during the 1980s and 1990s to higher technology exports like electronic goods and machinery, which now accounting for close to 50 percent of its exports, whereas China imports oil, iron ore, cotton, diamonds, and other natural resources and primary goods from Africa. African countries without much oil or many raw materials to export and trade with China is less mutually complementary, which results in a rise in their trade deficit [22].…”