China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Africa: Lessons for Central Asia

Date: 

Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 3:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: 

CGIS South Building, Room S354, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA

China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Africa: Lessons for Central Asia

Before the Belt and Road Initiative became the heart of Chinese foreign engagement, China was already active in Africa. The lessons it learned in building railways, ports, and diplomatic networks on the continent helped to shape Beijing’s global rollout of infrastructure and influence. But how has China-Africa engagement, and the subsequent BRI, shaped African governance? Where and how does the continent exercise agency in dealing with China? And what lessons can Central Asia learn as it navigates the new landscape shaped by the BRI and China’s rise as a global superpower

Cobus van Staden is a senior researcher on China-Africa relations at the South African Institute of International Affairs. He is also the co-host of the China in Africa Podcast, and co-founder of the China-Africa Project, aimed at tracking the evolution of the China-Africa relationship.

Free and open to the public.
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