Chinese investment is transforming the African landscape. Pot-holed roads are being replaced by double-lane highways. In urban areas, Chinese-built office complexes, hotels, and shopping malls are an increasingly common sight and in even remote rural areas, Chinese traders are selling Chinese-made essentials to locals.
Africa is the last frontier to offer attractive investment opportunities to an economy with national capabilities in executing large-scale infrastructure projects. While FDI projects in Africa contribute to maintaining employment of Chinese workers, an important national consideration as China balances the transition to a service economy, increased domestic consumption, spiralling domestic debt, and an ageing population, China, being the largest foreign investor in Africa, has attracted negative views from inside and outside Africa for its investment on this continent and has been criticized by Western Countries for neo-colonialization behaviour.
Moreover, Chinese OFDI into Africa is taking place in an era during which global economic activity is transforming. Deglobalization dynamics, and the fourth industrial revolution arising from digitalization, artificial intelligence, platformization, 3D printing, etc. are predicted to transform global trade, give rise to more regional trade compacts, and redefine global value chains. This highlights the huge opportunities for developing – and perhaps technologically less advanced – markets.
European and American multinationals have been slow to explore investment opportunities in Africa. Large-scale infrastructure development requires huge capital investment financing. The Western developed economies are either not willing or not able to match China OFDI policies for such projects. Even when financing can be arranged, there has been a lack of interest and the quite recent colonial history complicates the relationship between Africa and especially European countries.
This does not mean that considerations of colonialism and power dependencies are absent from the China/Africa relationship; on the contrary. Facing the pressures of economic development and projected population growth, many African countries are attracted to the top-down approach exemplified by the history of China since opening up in 1978 and by President Xi's aspirations for China to challenge the dominance of the US. The effect of Chinese FDI into Africa also reinforces an affinity between countries that question the efficacy of liberal democracy in how they govern. In an era of increasing populism and the ratcheting trade-war between the US and China, such an affinity has far-reaching implications.
This Management and Organization Review research frontiers conference will culminate in a special issue of MOR focused on exploring the history, experience, and implications of Chinese FDI into Africa. Given the wide range of topics, disciplinary perspectives, empirical approaches, and the nature of the questions raised by Chinese FDI into Africa, the guest editors and the program committee hope to attract scholars from a range of disciplines such as international business, political science, corporate strategy, organization theory, cross-cultural research, social movements, and others.
The MOR research Frontiers Conference on China OFDI to Africa is therefore seeking papers that provide insight into why and how Chinese FDI into Africa is playing out. Especially welcome are scholars whose research can contribute to elucidate how Africans understand Chinese FDI on their continent, as well as exploration of the Chinese perspective. The conference seeks to feature rigorous scholarly contributions, including micro perspectives of how individuals experience Africa/China interactions, large-scale macro perspectives on the phenomenon, conceptual contributions, and qualitative case studies. But beyond that, we do not wish to impose specific themes or research questions.
Please submit proposals for sessions (3–5 pages) or extended abstracts of papers (7–10 pages) to MOR Deputy Editor for Africa, Professor Helena Barnard ([email protected]). The subject line must show China OFDI to Africa. The deadline for submissions is March 20, 2020 and invitations will be issued by April 24, 2020.
This conference is co-sponsored by the University of San Francisco China Business Studies Initiative, a knowledge center that creates and shares knowledge of global Chinese business by providing a platform connecting scholars, practitioners, policy makers, students and alumni through its unique global positioning.
中国的投资正在改变非洲的面貌。双车道公路取代了坑坑洼洼的小路, 城市里中国建造的办公楼、酒店和购物中心越来越多, 就连偏远的农村地区也有中国商人在向当地人出售中国制造的必需品。
非洲是最后一个吸引有能力实施大规模基础设施项目的国家进行投资的地区。中国工人的就业问题作为中国向服务型经济转型、国内消费增加、国内债务不断上升和人口老龄化的重要考虑因素, 通过非洲的外国直接投资项目得到了很大的改善, 但作为非洲最大的外国投资国, 中国的对非投资引起了非洲内外的负面看法, 并因”新殖民主义”行为而备受西方国家的批评。
此外, 中国对非洲的对外直接投资发生在全球经济活动转变的时代。逆全球化现象和数字化、人工智能、平台化、3D 打印等带来的第四次产业革命将改变全球贸易, 促成更多区域贸易契约, 重新定义全球价值链。这凸显了在技术不那么先进的发展中市场里的巨大机遇。
欧美跨国公司逐渐放缓在非洲寻找投资机会的步伐。大规模的基础设施建设需要巨额的资金投入。西方发达经济体不愿意或无法在此类项目上与中国的对外直接投资政策相匹配。即使在可以融资的情况下, 这些国家也缺乏兴趣, 同时近代殖民历史也使非洲与欧洲国家之间的关系复杂化。
这并不意味着中非之间没有考虑到殖民主义和权力依赖。相反, 面对经济发展和未来人口增长的压力, 许多非洲国家被 1978 年中国的开放政策和习主席对于挑战美国主导地位的愿景这样自上而下的政策方针所吸引。中国对非洲的直接投资也增强了那些质疑自由民主在其治理方式中的有效性的国家之间的亲和力。在民粹主义日益盛行、中美贸易战步步升级的时代, 这种亲和力具有深远的影响。
本次 MOR 前沿研究会议论文将在 MOR 特刊上发表, 并将着重探讨中国对非洲直接投资的历史、经验和影响。鉴于中国对非直接投资主题、学科视角、实证方法和问题性质的广泛性, 特邀编辑和项目委员会希望能吸引国际商务、政治学、企业战略、组织理论、跨文化研究和社会运动等多个学科领域的学者参与。
因此, 本次主题为“中国对外直接投资非洲”的 MOR 前沿研究会议发起征文启事, 旨在深入了解中国对非直接投资的原因和方式。特别欢迎那些致力于研究非洲人和中国人如何理解中国在非洲大陆的外国直接投资的学者。这次会议力求严谨的学术贡献, 包括微观视角下的个人中非互动体验、宏观视角下如何看待这一现象、概念贡献和定性案例研究。但除此之外, 我们不希望强加具体的主题或研究问题。
请向 MOR 非洲版块副主编 Helena Barnard 教授 ([email protected]) 提交会议提案 (3-5 页) 或论文扩展摘要 (7-10 页)。主题必须是中国对非洲的对外直接投资。提交截止日期为 2020 年 3 月 20 日, 邀请函将于 2020 年 4 月 24 日前发出。
本次会议由 University of San Francisco China Business Studies Initiative 共同发起, 这个知识中心通过其独特的全球定位, 为学者、从业者、决策者、学生和校友提供联系平台, 从而创造和分享全球中国商业知识。
