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Hi my name is Emmanuel Kodzi and I'm really excited to talk to you
about Africa's response options to China's Belt and Road Initiative.
There are several arguments at the country level and in
the geopolitical arena about whether Chinese involvement is good or bad to Africa.
My research has pivoted from that discussion and rather
focused on how discerning African businesses and
institutions may be better served by adopting
the appropriate response mechanisms to China's increasing engagement.
This is because the increase in level of
Chinese engagement is associated with both threats and opportunities.
So my objective is to figure out how
local African businesses can maximize the opportunities to participate in
global value chains rather than being marginalized as a result of
intense foreign investment from China or from other countries for that matter.
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The four Nation African tour by the Chinese president in
July 2018 and other area forums like the Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation in 2017 and
the Forum on China Africa Cooperation in 2015 are all signs
that Africa is an important part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.The ongoing
proliferation of Chinese businesses in
many African countries is expected to continue and the impact that must be understood.
Based on the existing asymmetries between China and Africa in terms of economic strength,
scale of production and cost advantages,
alien prize in 2010 notes that increased
trade with China has the effect of lowering total factor productivity for
sub-Saharan African manufacturing firms directly through
import competition and indirectly through a negative technology
transfer.We use productivity in African countries hampers cost
reduction efforts and further compounds the relative cost disadvantage.
So who wins in the new partnership?
Does Africa have what it takes not to be
a subservient partner with a balance of power in China's favor?
In what ways might African countries increase the value of
their contribution in economic changes under the Belt and Road Initiative?
