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African Perspectives on China-Africa: Modelling Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants

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  • Marek Hanusch

Abstract

China's recent political and economic inroads into Africa have generated much interest in the current literature, with scholars and policymakers endeavouring to assess the merits and risks implicit in this renewed engagement. Absent from the literature, however, are systematic analyses of African perceptions of these rapidly growing China-Africa links, and what determines these perceptions. This article fills this void by examining not only African attitudes towards China's African presence, but also investigating the considerations that inform these views. Using multi-level modelling techniques, this article estimates the effects of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI), Sino-African trade and notions of democracy and human rights on African attitudes towards "China-in-Africa". The results suggest that Africans' views of China are nearly equivalent to those that they hold vis-�-vis Western countries. The perceived impact of imports from China has a negative effect. However, this effect is counter-balanced by perceptions of China's impact on poverty alleviation-in line with its greater focus on economic, social and cultural, as opposed to civic and political human rights-in particular through FDI. Among those who value civic and political human rights, in contrast, attitudes towards China are less favourable. This finding is echoed with respect to democratic governance, though the effect is less stable. The results are derived from Afrobarometer data covering 20 African countries.

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  • Marek Hanusch, 2012. "African Perspectives on China-Africa: Modelling Popular Perceptions and their Economic and Political Determinants," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 492-516, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:40:y:2012:i:4:p:492-516
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2012.728580
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    Cited by:

    1. Akhtaruzzaman, Muhammad & Berg, Nathan & Lien, Donald, 2017. "Confucius Institutes and FDI flows from China to Africa," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 241-252.
    2. Philipp Gieg, 2016. "Same Same but Different? India–Africa Relations and Chinese Involvement in the Continent," Insight on Africa, , vol. 8(1), pages 40-58, January.
    3. Simplice Asongu & John Ssozi, 2016. "Sino-African Relations: Some Solutions and Strategies to the Policy Syndromes," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 33-51, January.
    4. Eichenauer, Vera Z. & Fuchs, Andreas & Brückner, Lutz, 2021. "The effects of trade, aid, and investment on China's image in Latin America," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 483-498.
    5. McCauley, John F. & Pearson, Margaret M. & Wang, Xiaonan, 2022. "Does Chinese FDI in Africa inspire support for a china model of development?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Floor Keuleers, 2015. "Explaining External Perceptions: The EU and China in African Public Opinion," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 803-821, July.
    7. Nico Olivier, 2014. "Between Contradiction and Co-operation: An Analysis of China’s Evolving Engagement with Africa," Insight on Africa, , vol. 6(1), pages 15-42, January.
    8. Thilo Bodenstein & Achim Kemmerling, 2017. "The European Union as a Collective Actor: Aid and Trade in African Public Opinion," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(4), pages 567-586, July.
    9. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2017. "Cultivating greater self-confidence in African management research," MPRA Paper 79751, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    10. Kenneth Kalu, 2021. "‘Respect’ and ‘agency’ as driving forces for China–Africa relations," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(4), pages 336-347, December.
    11. Emma Serwaa Obobisa & Haibo Chen & Emmanuel Caesar Ayamba & Claudia Nyarko Mensah, 2021. "The Causal Relationship Between China-Africa Trade, China OFDI, and Economic Growth of African Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, December.
    12. Eichenauer, Vera Z. & Fuchs, Andreas & Brueckner, Lutz, 2018. "The Effects of Trade, Aid, and Investment on China's Image in Developing Countries," Working Papers 0646, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.

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