China and Africa Resources Part 1: Blogs & Features

The China Africa Blog
The blog has not been updated in recent months, but it remains an in-depth source on articles about China in Africa for recent years. Topics include: Sustainable Development, Industrialization, Infrastructure and Migration. The makers have by now founded The ChinaAfricaAdvisory.

The ChinaAfrica Project
Arguably the biggest and most influential project on China in Africa, run by Cobus von Staden and Eric Oleander. The blog features a recommended weekly podcast, an Email newsletter as well as a number of resources, articles and books about China’s engagement with Africa.

China in Africa The Real Story
Run by Deborah Bräutigam, one of the most prolific scholars on China in Africa, the blog features a number of articles and news commented by Bräutigam. The blogs also features a list of her publications and research ideas.

China Africa News
China Africa News features both a weekly newsletter, including but not limited on business as well as a blog commenting on all Chinese-African matters. The commentary is quite funny to read and the list of recourses used for the blog is expansive.

Exporting China’s Development to the World (MqVU)
MqVU is a team of anthropologists based at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) and the Free University (VU, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) who research China’s development projects around the world. Articles are not limited to China in Africa but feature a number of viewpoints not ordinarily read in the media. Not regularly updated any longer.

ShiftingWealth
Interesting blog run by Helmut Reisen on the recalibration of the world economy from the West to the East. Helmut Reisen was the head of research of the OECD Development Centre before founding ShiftingWealth. The blog focuses primarily on implications for policy-makers, investors and the rich and the poor.

A Chinese in Africa
One of the most interesting blogs out there, run by a young Chinese professional in Africa, who is commenting on news on China in Africa with his perspective and on the ground knowledge of the relationship. Features both English and Chinese articles.

David Shinn Blog
The official blog of Amb. David Shinn, former US ambassador to Ehtiopia and Burkino Faso, where he is featuring and commenting on newspaper articles. Not exclusively China-Africa centered.

Africans in China Blog
Blog run by Roberto Castillo, himself based at Hong Kong University, who is looking at the daily life of the African diaspora in Guangzhou and beyond in China. Features discussions of daily life, as well as academic resources and research. Very popular: the discussion on the by now infamously popular racist Chinese ad.

Aiddata
Aiddate is tracking Chinese aid in Africa and is publishing research as well. Data is accessible for a number of different countries, as well as other regions such as Latin America.

Howard W. French, Into Africa: China’s Wild Rush, New York Times
French is looking at new challenges after a decade of engagement of China in Africa, particular from African civil societies.

Zhang Zizhu, Inside the Chinese factory in Ethiopia where Ivanka Trump places her shoe orders, Initium Media. Original story, updated here.
Zhang traces the claim of Trump to bring back shoes to America from the perspective of a Chinese factory in Ethiopia that is, ironically, producing shoes for Ivanka Trump

Jenni Marsh, Afro-Chinese marriages boom in Guangzhou: but will it be ’til death do us part’?, South China Morning Post
A fascinating long read on the trials and tribulations of the mixed-race couples of Guangzhou that are slowly changing Chinese society

Damien Ma, Chinese Workers in Africa who marry Locals face puzzled Reception at Home, The Atlantic
The other side of the coin: Chinese marrying Africans while abroad. Not a long read but a lot of pictures and short stories about the lives of Chinese-African couples

Richard Poplak, The new scramble for Africa: how China became the partner of choice, The Guardian
Poplak traces the beginngings and interlinkages of geopolitics and infrastructure as one of the foundations of China’s engagement in Africa

Jacob Kushner, Leaving China in Pursuit of the African Dream, Vice
Kushner is looking at on the ground lives of Chinese in the DRC and Kenya with four fascinating documentaries about daily lives and construction projects in both countries

Paolo Woods, China Goes to Africa, Time
A short look into Woods celebrated book China Goes to Africa

Liu Hongqiao, South China Tigers Lost in the African Wilderness, Caixin, English here, Chinese original here
A long read on one of the topics generating heated discussions in all parts of the world: China’s involvement in wildlife crime in Africa

Fousseni Saibou, Impact of China-West Africa Healthcare Cooperation, Africa China Reporting Project
Saibou takes an in-depth view on the often surprising impacts of Chinese involvement in healthcare in West Africa

More interesting features can be found at the homepage of the Africa-China Reporting Project of Wits Journalism