China’s Role in Africa’s Industrialization: Obstacle, Partner, or Both?

Africa's industrialization push is colliding with the defining economic question of this era: how can any country or region climb the manufacturing value chain so long as China dominates industrial production of pretty much, well, everything? 

But even if overcoming the China question is possible, African leaders then face a second, more daunting obstacle: infrastructure. The lack of reliable power, water, roads, and other infrastructure necessary to support industrialization is severe in many parts of the continent.

A new book by Professor Carlos Oya, a preeminent China-Africa scholar at the University of London, details China's complex role in Africa's pursuit of industrialization. Eric & Cobus speak with Carlos about how China is simultaneously a big challenge and an important part of the solution.

Topics covered

• Why industrialization is back at the center of African economic strategy
• The infrastructure constraint: electricity costs, reliability, and targeted hubs
• Ethiopia's experience: what worked, what didn't, and why it mattered
• China's evolving role: from policy-bank infrastructure to private manufacturing plays
• The evidence on "Chinese labor" myths and what research actually shows

Download the book (free):

• Cambridge University Press: China for Africa's Industrialization? by Carlos Oya

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