China and Mozambique: From Comrades to Capitalists

Image: Flickr, Cornelius Kibelka
Image: Flickr, Cornelius Kibelka

China’s rising position in African affairs, from that of quiescence to becoming a key economic actor on the continent, is now a well-recognized fact. A new book co-edited by SAIIA's Chris Alden and the IESE's Sérgio Chichava takes an in-depth look at China's relationship with Mozambique.

The wide range of reactions to greater Chinese involvement across Africa has varied from enthusiastic embrace by elites to caution from businesses, trade unions and civil society, and even hostility from some local communities. As a once-modest presence in Africa, China has rapidly grown to become one of Africa’s top trading partners. Two-way trade surged from just over US$10 billion in 2000 to US$220 billion in 2012.

The book China and Mozambique: From Comrades to Capitalists moves beyond the conventions of general surveys on China-Africa relations to explore real content and experiences of China’s relationship with Mozambique.

A fuller sense of bilateral relations is offered through the focus on this emblematic case; it drills down into the heart of a relationship whose growing depth and complexity exposes key themes that will affect Africa’s future development.

About the editors

Chris Alden holds a Professorship in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He taught International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1990 to 2000 and established the East Asia Project in 1992. He has held fellowships at Cambridge University, Tokyo University and École Normale Supérieure. Alden is a research associate of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the University of Pretoria. He has published widely on China-Africa relations, South African foreign policy, and post-conflict peace building in Africa.

Sérgio Chichava holds a PhD Political Science from Bordeaux University in African Politics and is currently a senior researcher at the Institute of Social and Economic Studies (IESE) in Mozambique, where he leads a new research programme on rising powers and development. Chichava has been lecturing in the Sociology of Politics and Mozambican Politics at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo and has held fellowships at Oxford University and the London School of Economics. His recent work focuses on the role of China and Brazil in Mozambique’s agriculture sector.

Order the book

To order, contact SAIIA’s publications department:
Ms Alexandra Begg, Publications Specialist
Tel: +27 (0)11 339-2021
Email: pubs@saiia.org.za

Or click here to download the order form and email the completed form to orders@onthedot.co.za.

The views expressed in this publication/article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

15 Jul 2014