Chinese investments in Africa: what have we known and what should we know?

This study conducts a systematic review of the researches on Chinese investments in Africa, publishing in major journals of business administration and international business over these last 10 years. It studies the motivational factors for Chinese firm?s presence in Africa, the modes of entry of Chinese investment, the management issues, and their impacts on local economy and firms. It aims to provide an organizing framework for emerging theoretical and methodological issues, as well as future research direction in this field.Based on the international business theories, the findings of this study indicated that, to date, the majority of research has attempted to either qualitatively or conceptually criticize the cooperation between China and Africa, and there are very few studies that define model and develop measurement tools to empirically test the effects of the Chinese presence in the African continent and its impacts on local enterprises. Very few studies have provided robust evidence to establish the role that China is playing and the crowding-in or crowding-out effects of the Sino-Africa cooperation. This paper discusses about 5 major flaws in the existing literature and concludes with some emerging issues, the practical implications of this review, and future research directions.