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The Specter of Global China

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  • Lee, Ching Kwan

Abstract

China has recently emerged as one of Africa’s top business partners, aggressively pursuing its raw materials and establishing a mighty presence in the continent’s booming construction market. Among major foreign investors in Africa, China has stirred the most fear, hope, and controversy. For many, the specter of a Chinese neocolonial scramble is looming, while for others China is Africa’s best chance at economic renewal. Yet, global debates about China in Africa have been based more on rhetoric than on empirical evidence. Ching Kwan Lee’s The Specter of Global China is the first comparative ethnographic study that addresses the critical question: Is Chinese capital a different kind of capital? Offering the clearest look yet at China’s state-driven investment in Africa, this book is rooted in six years of extensive fieldwork in copper mines and construction sites in Zambia, Africa’s copper giant. Lee shadowed Chinese, Indian, and South African managers in underground mines, interviewed Zambian miners and construction workers, and worked with Zambian officials. Distinguishing carefully between Chinese state capital and global private capital in terms of their business objectives, labor practices, managerial ethos, and political engagement with the Zambian state and society, she concludes that Chinese state investment presents unique potential and perils for African development. The Specter of Global China will be a must-read for anyone interested in the future of China, Africa, and capitalism worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Ching Kwan, 2018. "The Specter of Global China," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226340838, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:bkecon:9780226340838
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fei, Ding, 2020. "Variegated work regimes of Chinese investment in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    2. Weiwei Chen, 2021. "The dynamics of state-business relations between the Ethiopian state and Chinese private firms: A case study of the Eastern Industry Park," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-122, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Shin, Hyun Bang & Zhao, Yimin & Koh, Sin Yee, 2022. "The urbanising dynamics of global China: speculation, articulation, and translation in global capitalism," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117180, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Wang, Mingchu & Wei, Yingqi & Azumah, Gideon & Wang, Catherine L., 2024. "African returnees in international knowledge transfer: A social capital perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    5. Muyang Chen, 2021. "China–Japan development finance competition and the revival of mercantilism," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(5), pages 811-828, September.
    6. Maximilian Felsch, 2023. "The Scientific Shortcomings of Postcolonial Theory," International Studies, , vol. 60(1), pages 113-130, January.
    7. Ricardo Reboredo, 2021. "Disaggregating Development: A Critical Analysis of Sino-African Megaprojects," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 21(1), pages 86-104, April.
    8. Tom Goodfellow & Zhengli Huang, 2022. "Manufacturing urbanism: Improvising the urban–industrial nexus through Chinese economic zones in Africa," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(7), pages 1459-1480, May.
    9. Lisha He & Ronghao Jiang & Mia M. Bennett, 2020. "The rise of Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States: Disentangling investment strategies of state‐owned and private enterprises," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 1562-1587, December.
    10. Susanna Fioratta, 2019. "A world of cheapness: Affordability, shoddiness, and second‐best options in Guinea and China," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 86-97, January.
    11. Alvin Camba, 2020. "The Sino‐centric Capital Export Regime: State‐backed and Flexible Capital in the Philippines," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(4), pages 970-997, July.
    12. Tom Goodfellow & Zhengli Huang, 2021. "Contingent infrastructure and the dilution of ‘Chineseness’: Reframing roads and rail in Kampala and Addis Ababa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(4), pages 655-674, June.
    13. Andrea Ghiselli & Mohammed Alsudairi, 2023. "Exploiting China's Rise: Syria's Strategic Narrative and China's Participation in Middle Eastern Politics," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(S1), pages 19-35, February.
    14. Imogen T. Liu & Adam D. Dixon, 2021. "Legitimating State Capital: The Global Financial Professions and the Transnationalization of Chinese Sovereign Wealth," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(5), pages 1251-1273, September.

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