After decades of deficient Western policies to develop Africa, China’s increasingly bold, no-strings approach to investment and aid in Africa attracts both cautious praise and withering criticism. Can China’s aid to Africa be seen as an incipient new developmental model, a catalyst for prosperity, a deleterious neo-colonialist gambit, or elements of all three? Will the flow of Chinese money to Africa undermine arduous efforts at accountability and effective aid by Western institutions, or can it induce innovation among traditional donors whose own track records are open to much criticism? How should scholars, policy-makers, and aid organizations make sense of the impact of China’s inroads into commerce, extractive industries, construction, flows of manufactured goods, capital and even labor? How do Africans and Chinese view the current efforts of their respective governments, private sectors, and civil societies to engage each other? What are the implications for bilateral and multilateral relations, governance and the environment?

The India China Institute, in conjunction with The New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs (GPIA) presents a public panel discussion on China’s Aid to Africa with leading scholars, government officials, and practitioners from China, Africa, the US and Europe. The panel will explore, inter alia, the history, implementation and implications of China’s aid policies towards Africa; the way China’s experience as an aid recipient influences its policies abroad; the impact of China’s aid on African socio-economic development and governance; and how existing donors can respond and engage this new phenomenon. Case studies from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola will inform the discussion, and an African government official and international NGO professional will share their experience working with Chinese players in negotiating aid terms and advocating for better environmental and governance standards.
Speakers include:

• Deborah Brautigam, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University;
• Sun Baohong, Counselor, Policy Analysis Section, Chinese Embassy, Washington DC;
• Mukenge Betu-Kabansu, Secretary of the Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
• Zhang Jun, Researcher, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing;
• Peter Bosshard, Policy Director, International Rivers;
• Daniel Large, Research Director of the Africa Asia Centre, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London;
• Tang Xiaoyang, PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy, The New School.

Moderated by Jonathan Bach, Associate Director, Graduate Program in International Affairs.
This event was made possible by the generous support of the NASDAQ Foundation as part of a series of events on “Global China” co-sponsored by the India China Institute at the New School.