Abstract
This book seeks to explore the broader dimensions of the current engagement between Asia and Africa. To present a contrast to the existing deliberations on the Asian players in the African continent, the authors do not want to solely focus on the ‘China in Africa Syndrome’ but try to talk about the other Asian players as well. As is witnessed since the 1990s, countries like South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and India have been increasingly making their presence felt in the African continent. At the same time, one can also see the reversible pattern of the African engaging in Asian countries. Large number of Africans are now seen as moving towards countries like China and India in search of better opportunities.
Therefore, this book covers a series of interactions between Asia and Africa. The authors have not completely ignored China and have brought out the Chinese engagement in various phases. However, the authors have focused more in the smaller and less talked about Asian players in Africa. There are many Asian countries that have been able to make their presence felt in Africa in however small proportion it may be.
The chapter on African Youth in Malaysia deals in detail of the reasons for this migration of youth to Malaysia. The writer discusses all the push and pull factors for migration. The chapters cover all aspects ranging from the local conditions in the countries like Cameroon and Nigeria to the privatisation of education in Malaysia, all of which constitute reasons for this outbound mobility.
Another chapter brings out the small-scale mining sector in East Cameroon and the Asian players involved in it. There have been many articles and research reports on the Chinese influence in the mining sector in Africa. It gives a picture that mining sector in Africa has been completely hijacked by the Chinese. The writer points out that not only the Chinese companies, but many Korean companies are also visible in this sector. This is something new and interesting phenomenon to read apart from the Chinese engagement.
The Chinese language has been on high demand in Africa since the Chinese have started opening Confucius institutes. Since 2004, there have been 48 Confucius institutes opened in Africa that are promoting Chinese language and culture. The second section of the book deals with this part of the Chinese engagement in Africa. This talks about the increasing number of Confucius Institutes in Africa. The number of Confucius Institutes in Africa has multiplied in recent times. There are at least more than 50 Confucius Institutes in Africa that can be interpreted as a part of soft power policy of China. The author focuses on the role of these institutes in promoting Chinese language and culture in Africa.
China has been increasingly involved in creating a large cultural footprint across world’s fastest growing continent. Chinese language learning has been increasing over the years. African youth are ambitious, and many of them are inclined to take up Mandarin in order to help them find a job in China or benefit from the growing China influence throughout the continent.
The other chapter talks about Sino–Africa civil society interaction. The author brings about another aspect of Chinese soft power strategy. It discusses how civil society interactions are much less developed and there should be more and more efforts to be made at various social and political levels.
A very interesting study by Andre Groger points out at the Vietnamese–Chinese migration to Angola. In Angola, there are a majority of Vietnamese migrants who are considered Chinese. This creates the false Chinese presence in the continent and is a result of lack of knowledge about the differences between various Asians—their appearance, customs, languages, and so on. The authors have also investigated the large number of Vietnamese workers living in Angola. Most of these Vietnamese workers are working in the construction industry in Angola through Vietnamese sub-companies also cooperating with Chinese firms. The Vietnamese workers are preferred as they are cheaper than the Chinese. This study brings out an important perspective where Chinese presence in the continent overshadows completely cases like Vietnam.
The China–Africa story has also been covered historically in one of the chapters. The author stresses on the need to look at the historical dimension of China–Africa relations, which can be traced back to the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955. China was also a participant in the Bandung Conference and much of the policies undertaken by China in the second phase of its engagement still reflect that Bandung spirit. This was taken further under ‘South–South Co-operation’ in order to further co-operation between countries of the South rather than with countries of the North.
Taking further the spirit of ‘South–South Co-operation’, Wiebe Nauta and Tae-Joo Lee have shifted the focus to Rwanda and South Korea. They have highlighted various sectors where both have cooperated like Rural Development, ICT, and so on. The authors have conducted a research on how the idea of development from a country like South Korea can be implemented in a context like Rwanda. The civil society of South Korea is very different from that of Rwanda, and Korean NGOs are the one that are instrumental in providing benefits to the Rwandan society.
The interactions between Asia and Africa have also been analysed from individual perspective. This is done through taking into account the Malaysian and Philippines as the education hub for African students. The African students migrate hoping to receive better quality of education in Asia as compared to the education they get at home.
This book has tried to move beyond the most popular discourse of ‘China in Africa’ by taking up various case studies of interaction between Asian countries and African countries. Despite bringing to attention specific and peculiar cases like Vietnamese–Chinese migration mining in Cameroon and South Korean NGOs in Rwanda—the book has failed to include a very important Asian country in this research-INDIA. Especially when the book is attempting to divulge from the China–Africa story and focus on other Asian engagements, Indian contribution cannot be overlooked.