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Lampert, Ben and Mohan, Giles
(2014).
Abstract
China’s renewed engagement with Africa is often framed as a form of imperialism, with the growing number of Chinese migrants on the continent seen as an exploitative presence. Such claims have generally been based on little evidence, and where more detailed empirical studies have emerged, they tend to emphasise the tensions and conflicts that have arisen. Our research on Chinese migrants in Ghana and Nigeria suggests that while there are concerns about Chinese competition in the informal retail sector and the treatment of local labour in Chinese enterprises, narratives of apparent tension and conflict are often much more nuanced than is generally recognised. Furthermore, more convivial and cooperative relations have also emerged and these have facilitated important opportunities for Africans to benefit from the Chinese presence. However, while the presence of Chinese migrants in African socio-economic life can be more integrated and mutually beneficial than is often assumed, the ability of African actors to benefit from this presence is highly uneven, placing the politics of class at the centre of any understanding of Sino-African encounters.
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About
- Item ORO ID
- 39672
- Item Type
- Journal Item
- ISSN
- 1868-1026
- Project Funding Details
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Funded Project Name Project ID Funding Body The social and political impacts of South-South migration: A comparative analysis of Chinese migrant integration in West Africa ES/G035318/1 ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) - Keywords
- China in Africa; Chinese migrants in Africa; migration and development; conviviality; globalisation
- Academic Unit or School
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Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Social Sciences and Global Studies > Development
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Social Sciences and Global Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) - Research Group
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Innovation, Knowledge & Development research centre (IKD)
OpenSpace Research Centre (OSRC)
?? idii ?? - Copyright Holders
- © 2014 The Authors
- Related URLs
- Depositing User
- Ben Lampert