Beyond the Yuan: Rethinking China’s Attractiveness to Africa

Abstract

This paper seeks to revisit the narratives surrounding China and Africa relations. While these engagements have attracted the attention of scholars and policymakers, the emphasis has been on the economic aspects and a little attention has been made to examine the role of non-economic drivers. This paper argues that even though economic drivers are significant, Africa and China relations go beyond economic drivers. It identifies non-economic factors like the personality of president Xi Jinping and his personalised relations with African leaders, perceived attitudes of Western countries towards the continent, China’s political system, politics of mega projects in Africa, China’s soft power strategies and historical experiences as significant factors in strengthening relations between Beijing and the continent. It looks at attractiveness as an important concept in understanding states’ actions and relations. The paper concludes that engagements between China and Africa maybe characterised by huge economic factors, but the foundation of these relations is attractiveness anchored on a number of non-economic drivers.

The media in China–Africa public relations: Assessing China's attractiveness beyond economic development assistance

“…Nevertheless, the emerging research into China–African public relations suggests that Chinese officials have realized that government‐to‐government engagements alone cannot shape a favorable image in the various African countries. Instead, paying attention to soft power as a tool of engagement would be effective by harnessing it with other elements that appeal to the public (Hanauer & Morris, 2014; Nyadera et al., 2020). Beijing is adding to its foreign policy approach, public relations, and public diplomacy that center on people‐to‐people and firms‐to‐firms economic engagement, media representation, and culture exchanges (Hanauer & Morris, 2014, p. 73).…”

“…Who it supports is likely to determine the future balance of power (Ameyaw‐Brobbey, 2021). Nyadera and others (2020, p. 4) note, “China's need for oil and minerals and Africa's need for infrastructure and strategic partnerships are some of the key interests cementing this relation.” Thus, this relationship necessitates scholarly discussions.…”

Multilateralism, Developmental Regionalism, and the African Development Bank

“…In public and diplomatic discourses, China emphasizes its shared struggle with Africa against (neo)colonialism and Western dominance in an attempt to present itself as a better alternative for Africa (Jianbo & Xiaomin, 2011). While Chinese loans and aid (see Figure 1) have funded huge investments in Africa, there are critical voices that highlight China's demand for the continent's natural resources and debt trap policy (Mlambo, 2019;Nyadera et al, 2020;Were, 2018). A 2020 survey conducted by Afrobarometer to examine public opinion on Chinese lending to African governments, established that the majority of the people in 11 out of the 18 surveyed countries supported the view that their government had borrowed too much money from China (Selormey, 2020).…”