(Guest Post) Attending: A Discussion on China’s Future Role in Africa

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China in Africa, GWU, Lula Chen, SADC, Sister Cities International, US China Cooperation in Africa, Winsow Robertson

Ed – See the original by Winslow Robertson at: http://cowriesrice.blogspot.com/2013/10/attending-discussion-on-chinas-future.html. I encourage readers to contact me regarding guest posts – africaindc a t gmail.com

On Wednesday (ed – 10/16), I (ed – Winslow Robertson) dropped by GWU to check out A Discussion on China’s Future Role in Africa, where Lula Chen of the Sino-African Institute of Sister Cities International talked about trilateral partnerships between U.S., African, and Chinese cities.

That is not a typo: trilateral partnerships!

Inaugural Sino – Africa DC Lecture: The Threads of Chinese Engagement in South Africa

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AGOA, China in Africa, Chinese during Apartheid, Chinese in South Africa, Fong Kong, Sino - Africa DC, Taiwanese in South Africa, Winslow Robertson, Yoon Jung Park

I’ll confess, I wasn’t originally too excited about a lecture on ‘The Chinese, the Taiwanese, “Fong Kong,” and Labor in South Africa’ and a harsh day at work and a rainstorm didn’t help either.  However, I’m quite glad that I attended (alas, I had to leave before Q&A) the inaugural lecture of Sino – Africa DC, which is led by the indefatigable Winslow Robertson (I was quite taken back to see him fiddling with his phone throughout the talk – I only belatedly realized that he was live tweeting the event, I’m officially passé). 

‘African Independence’ at the Goethe Institute Friday Night – Review

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African Independence, Benjamin Mkapa, China in Africa, cold war in Africa, Dedan Kimathi, FW de Klerk, John Kufuor, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, Mau Mau, Samia Nkrumah, Tukufu Zuberi

Zuberi speaking after the film

Yesterday, I attended the opening screening of the African Diaspora International Film Festival, which continues at the Goethe Institute in Chinatown through this weekend.  The first screening was ‘African Independence‘, a film by Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, a Professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania (who was in attendance).  I tend to view Americans with romantic notions of Africa in a weary manner (perhaps because I am very self-conscious about my own tendencies to do so), so I admit to having some preconceived thoughts as to how someone raised in Oakland with an adopted Swahili name would tackle the issue of African independence.

A Conversation with CSIS Summer Interns Pierre Tantchou and Sa’eed Husaini

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Africa Rising, Central African Republic, China in Africa, CSIS Interns, DC Africa interns, Mali election, MINUSMA, Pierre Tantchou, Sa’eed Husaini, South Africa - Nigeria relations, Zimbabwe election

Sa’eed (L) & Pierre (R)

I recently sat down for an engaging conversation with Pierre Tantchou and Sa’eed Husaini, summer interns for the Africa Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).*  Both have African connections – Sa’eed, a Nigerian national, recently graduated from Hope College, while Pierre, who completed his undergraduate degree at GMU, was born and raised in

The Brookings Institution Tackles the US, China, and Africa

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Brookings Institution, China in Africa, He Wenping, Niger, Sino - Africa, Witney Schneidman

I first became interested in Chinese engagement in Africa while living in Niger.  My favorite restaurant in Niamey (the capital) was Chinese and much of my kitchenware came from a Chinese shop in the city of Zinder, near where I lived.  Youth in Zinder occasionally greeted me (a caucasian male) in Chinese.  The Chinese were also constructing a large embassy while I was in the country, using predominantly Chinese labor.

The Brookings Institution convened several experts yesterday to discuss The U.S., China and Africa: Pursuing Trilateral Dialogue and Action.  I couldn’t make it, but read Winslow Robertson’s post on the event.