Europe and China: A new Race for Africa during a pandemic
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
(Organization and chair/moderator at the Zoom webinar on behalf of the VIDC/Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation, Vienna) We witness an increasing foreign interest in Africa and a new race to capture its resources and markets. While the original 19th-century "Scramble for Africa" was between major European powers, today the European Union and China compete for influence on the continent. The European Union pushes for economic partnership agreements which aim to facilitate the free trade agenda. But it seems that European countries and corporations are steadily losing momentum as investors. China, however, has become one of Africa's most important trade partners over the past two decades. And as African countries are looking to fill their infrastructure gap, Chinese firms have built stadiums, highways, railways, airports, schools and hospitals. Ethiopia?s new rail system and the metro in Addis Ababa, for example, were built mainly with money from China. Also crisis-related aid from Chinese private individuals and the businesses community stand out from the rest. The volume of China?s in-kind and financial support for the continental fight against COVID-19 falls short compared to the Europeans. But aid often comes in the form of loans, with China contributing to the debt piles of African countries.
How does the EU deal with China's economic rise in Africa? How do African partners perceive the engagement of old and new superpowers on the continent? Is there a difference between their business practices? Does the new scramble for Africa open up economic opportunities that are more socially inclusive and ecologically sustainable for Africans? Can we already anticipate how the pandemic will transform economic relations and influence investment decisions? How can COVID-19 support from China and the Europeans be evaluated?
Sprache der Kurzfassung:
Englisch
Englischer Titel:
Europe and China: A new Race for Africa during a pandemic
Englische Kurzfassung:
We witness an increasing foreign interest in Africa and a new race to capture its resources and markets. While the original 19th-century "Scramble for Africa" was between major European powers, today the European Union and China compete for influence on the continent. The European Union pushes for economic partnership agreements which aim to facilitate the free trade agenda. But it seems that European countries and corporations are steadily losing momentum as investors. China, however, has become one of Africa's most important trade partners over the past two decades. And as African countries are looking to fill their infrastructure gap, Chinese firms have built stadiums, highways, railways, airports, schools and hospitals. Ethiopia?s new rail system and the metro in Addis Ababa, for example, were built mainly with money from China. Also crisis-related aid from Chinese private individuals and the businesses community stand out from the rest. The volume of China?s in-kind and financial support for the continental fight against COVID-19 falls short compared to the Europeans. But aid often comes in the form of loans, with China contributing to the debt piles of African countries.
How does the EU deal with China's economic rise in Africa? How do African partners perceive the engagement of old and new superpowers on the continent? Is there a difference between their business practices? Does the new scramble for Africa open up economic opportunities that are more socially inclusive and ecologically sustainable for Africans? Can we already anticipate how the pandemic will transform economic relations and influence investment decisions? How can COVID-19 support from China and the Europeans be evaluated?