Does Money Buy You Friendships: Who Choose to Dance with the Wolf in Africa?

• In Event: Making Democracy Work

Abstract

The relationship between China and Africa has been the interest of many scholars. China’s engagement in Africa is considered a combination of economic development, politics, and global balance of power. The “Beijing Consensus”, the Chinese model that represents state capitalism under an authoritarian government, appears to be preferred by the African Authoritarians. As a result, many African countries have offered their support to China on the international stage; they become important members of Team China. However, an unanswered question is whether or not China’s presence in the developing African continent is also appreciated by the people of Africa. Further, under the current international competition, if they were asked to choose between the United States and China, which one would they prefer and why? By using Afro barometer Survey Data Round 6 for conducting empirical tests, this paper finds that China’s engagement in the African continent brings African people a mixed feeling: One the one hand, a substitutive amount of survey respondents considers China its model of economic development, especially for those who consider the economy of their country is currently good and will be better in the future. Meanwhile, for those who are concerned about political issues such as corruption and mismanagement, they are more likely to distrust China’s engagement in Africa. This finding is robust across all models.

Author

• Yen-Hsin Chen, Sul Ross State University