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Investigating the determinants of trade flows has been the focus of extensive literature in international economics. Early studies focus on the effect of the distance between countries. However, answers to many important economic questions depend largely on the extent to which market size and stability affect supply and consumption. This paper augments the gravity model with the interaction between population density and governance. It uses a panel dataset of 51 African countries from 2000 to 2019 to investigate the impact of the interaction between Africa's population density and governance on Sino–Africa trade flows. The main results reveal that China's exports to Africa and Africa's openness with China are directly proportional to the interaction between Africa's population density and governance. However, China's imports from Africa are inversely proportional to the interaction between Africa's population density and governance. Also, results reveal the polarization of Sino–Africa trade flows, causing the revaluation of the Chinese Yuan. All other things being equal, concurrent improvement in Africa's population density and governance is a significant factor leading Africa to depend more on imports from China and reduce Africa's exports to China. This paper suggests that the effectiveness of international trade policy reforms is conditional on implementing efficient mechanisms to balance global population density with improvement in good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can and does realism explain the linkage between China's economic advancement and its ever-increasing hard power and global influence? Realists assert that a growth in a nation's economy triggers an upsurge in its craving for military or security advancement and power. Since the commencement of China's 'opening policy,' its economy has witnessed tremendous hikes, being ranked second to the US economy. A vital coincidence of this is the ever-increasing attempt to modernising its military and general security systems. Of major concern is China's recently established foreign military base in Djibouti in the 'Horn of Africa.' Realists have suggested that in such a Hobbesian world, Beijing will employ its economic power to assert its security interests. Analysing this linkage through a realist perspective, using case studies and historical analogies, the article concludes that realism best provides reasons for the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article process-traces Ethiopia's adoption and implementation of the industrial park development strategy from the mid 2000s to the late 2010s. How does policy transfer unfold, and what characterizes China's influence on Ethiopia's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) strategy? Drawing on extensive interviews conducted during multiple field trips to Ethiopia and China between 2017 and 2023, complemented by secondary sources, we argue that policy transfer involves navigating both structural opportunities—providing incentives and resources for individuals—and individual agency to surmount structural constraints. Contributing to the growing body of literature on South-South policy transfer, our study underscores the pivotal role of individual agency in overcoming prevalent structural constraints within South-South contexts, characterized by fluid power relations and less defined policy transfer networks. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of scrutinizing the agency of host-country actors in their engagements with a rising China, rather than assuming China's impacts in a deterministic manner. Our detailed documentation offers a nuanced perspective on China's influence in Ethiopia's industrialization. We show that primary agency in the policy transfer process should be attributed to Ethiopian actors, whereas the roles of Chinese actors range from initiation, facilitation, and occasionally, reluctant responses in this intricate process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine the political economy of China in Africa to unpack whether this foreign presence represents a miracle or a mirage for the continent. Data was gleaned from books, articles, official documents and the 2021 Afrobarometer Dispatch 489 survey (AD489). The paper argues that China is a rational actor that engages with Africa to advance its national interests. The Chinese presence in Africa has elicited divergent reactions from Africans of different social groups. The non-interference principle of the Beijing Consensus has led African power elites to embrace China as a reliable partner. Yet, the reactions of local Africans are mixed. While some applaud China’s contributions to infrastructure development, others criticise it for employing debt-trap diplomacy to assert hegemonic dominance on the continent, exploit African labour and extract resources. The criticism from Africans has led China to attempt to formulate corporate social responsibility policies, establish environmentally sustainable industries and ensure favourable working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the structures, forces, and actors that drive and constrain transnationalizing intrapreneurship—the overseas business initiatives taken by subsidiaries—under Chinese private investment in Africa. Drawing upon the economic-geographic literature on entrepreneurship, it integrates process- and agency-perspectives to understand the interplay between political-economic contexts, institutional structures, and leadership actions in shaping the intrapreneurial endeavors of Chinese private firms. The process perspective entails seeing intrapreneurial ventures not as singular events but a recursive development of resources, capabilities, and networks in transnational contexts. The agency perspective emphasizes the motivations and actions of subsidiary leaders in charting out new spaces of business opportunities, while also acknowledging the embeddedness of these intrapreneurs in the broader institutional and political-economic landscapes of both host and home countries. The empirical analyses draw upon a multi-year ethnographic research with a Chinese automobile assembler in Ethiopia. Discussions of the firm's internationalization trajectory—initial market venture, subsidiary business expansion, and recent decline in intrapreneurial momentum—over the past two decades offer a nuanced understanding of the contingent, context-specific, and fluid nature of transnationalizing intrapreneurship associated with Chinese private investment in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study quantified the regional damages resulting from temperature and sea level changes using the Regional Integrated of Climate and Economy (RICE) model, as well as the effects of enabling and disabling the climate impact module on future emission pathways. Results highlight varied damages depending on regional economic development and locations. Specifically, China and Africa could suffer the most serious comprehensive damages caused by temperature change and sea level rise, followed by India, other developing Asian countries (OthAsia), and other high-income countries (OHI). The comprehensive damage fractions for China and Africa are projected to be 15.1% and 12.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2195, with corresponding cumulative damages of 124.0 trillion and 87.3 trillion United States dollars (USD) from 2005 to 2195, respectively. Meanwhile, the comprehensive damage fractions in Japan, Eurasia, and Russia are smaller and projected to be lower than 5.6% of GDP in 2195, with cumulative damages of 6.8 trillion, 4.2 trillion, and 3.3 trillion USD, respectively. Additionally, coastal regions like Africa, the European Union (EU), and OHI show comparable damages for sea level rise and temperature change. In China, however, sea level-induced damages are projected to exceed those from temperature changes. Moreover, this study indicates that switching the damage modules on or off affects the regional and global emission trajectories, but the magnitude is relatively small. By 2195, global emissions under the experiments with all of the damage modules switched off, only the sea level damage module switched on, and only the temperature damage module switched on, were 3.5%, 2.3% and 1.2% higher than those with all of the damage modules switched on, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on visual analysis of the China Pictorial magazine in two historical periods (Mao and post-Mao), this article identifies six key themes of representing Africa in Chinese state media and finds a parallel between China's representation of Africa, Sino-African relations, and the shifting geopolitics. Different from Western stereotypes about Africa, China Pictorial constructs a romanticized image of Africa, which is interpreted through the concept of the "socialist gaze." Empirically, this article explains and historicizes how China Pictorial constructs meanings about Africa through its visual representational systems, shedding new light on China–Africa relations and the increasingly active South–South media flows. Theoretically, this article expands our understanding of media representation beyond the "colonial gaze." While the "socialist gaze" may function as a counter-representation to the "colonial gaze," it can also create new differences and stereotypes, thus enhancing power asymmetry between China and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African continent carries the greatest malaria burden in the world. Falciparum malaria especially has long been the leading cause of death in Africa. Climate, economic factors, geographical location, human intervention and unstable security are factors influencing malaria transmission. Due to repeated infections and early interventions, the proportion of clinically atypical malaria or asymptomatic plasmodium carriers has increased significantly, which easily lead to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. African countries have made certain progress in malaria control and elimination, including rapid diagnosis of malaria, promotion of mosquito nets and insecticides, intermittent prophylactic treatment in high-risk groups, artemisinin based combination therapies, and the development of vaccines. Between 2000 and 2022, there has been a 40% decrease in malaria incidence and a 60% reduction in mortality rate in the WHO African Region. However, many challenges are emerging in the fight against malaria in Africa, such as climate change, poverty, substandard health services and coverage, increased outdoor transmission and the emergence of new vectors, and the growing threat of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides. Joint prevention and treatment, identifying molecular determinants of resistance, new drug development, expanding seasonal malaria chemo-prevention intervention population, and promoting the vaccination of RTS, S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M may help to solve the dilemma. China's experience in eliminating malaria is conducive to Africa's malaria prevention and control, and China-Africa cooperation needs to be constantly deepened and advanced. Our review aims to help the global public develop a comprehensive understanding of malaria in Africa, thereby contributing to malaria control and elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the Summit of South American–Arab Countries (ASPA) created in 2005, UAE–South American relations have continued to develop based on a combination of pragmatism, threat perception, political support and expanding economic interests. We argue that the strength of UAE engagement in this region is consistent with its attempts to build, deploy and benefit from soft power globally through economic statecraft in a mutually reinforcing series of bilateral and multilateral relationships. These include forums such as the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the expanding BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The article draws on primary and secondary data in English, Portuguese and Spanish, focusing mainly on UAE relations with Brazil and Venezuela. We find that through a myriad of growing investment relations and first‐mover advantage on arms and industrial cooperation, the UAE is well positioned vis‐à‐vis other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to benefit from the economic, diplomatic and security ties that could boost its relational autonomy in a competitive and uncertain regional and international environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on panel data from 2000 to 2021 covering African 52 countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and utilizing a system generalized method of moments with instrumental variables, the study finds that China's financing has played a positive role in both export and import intensities of African countries with China. However, the impacts of different financing types on trade intensities vary by different country groups and periods. First, Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has a much bigger impact on both export intensity and import intensity, and aid has a much bigger impact on export intensity in resource-rich African countries than other countries. Second, Chinese OFDI has a much bigger impact on export intensity and aid has a much bigger impact on both export and import intensities in low-income African countries than other countries. Third, the regression results from different periods indicate that Chinese financing has enhanced the bidirectional trade relations between China and Africa since BRI launch. The study is conducive to the exploration of multinational corporations and foreign aid's role in trade relations and will help African countries use Chinese capital to promote bilateral cooperation and get rid of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between South Africa and China has not reached its full potential but has gathered great impetus and simultaneously stirred up controversy. Two important issues that have arisen concerning this relationship are whether the engagements between the two countries are mutually beneficial or asymmetrically favour one country over the other. This paper interrogates South Africa-China relations between 2009 and 2019, an epoch in which the relationship between the two nations became convoluted as much for what it entailed as for what it excluded. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants, and the information that was gathered was supplemented with a review of the literature within the context of the relationship. We found that South Africa-China relations go beyond the issues of minerals and other related natural resources. We also found that while there are elements of asymmetry in this relationship in economic terms, this asymmetry is somewhat exaggerated. We, therefore, recommend that regardless of this exaggeration, South Africa must place itself in a position to define terms of engagement with China and put in place measures to demarcate such perceived asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the China‐African economic relationship has received much attention among the scholars. Africa and China have experienced cooperation in the areas of foreign direct investment, cross‐border trade, and foreign aids. While this economic relationship has been viewed to contribute to the development of African nations, some scholars are of the opinion that it is a new practice in imperialism. Surprisingly, none of these scholars has examined the environmental effect of Chinese foreign direct investment (CFDI) in African regions. On this note, this study investigates how Chinese foreign direct investment (CFDI) has altered environmental conditions in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The study uses the pooled mean group panel estimation procedure to control for short‐run heterogeneity and long‐run homogeneity in the absence of cross‐sectional dependence for the period 2003–2020, focusing on 22 countries in the region that have seen a substantial increase in foreign investment from China. CFDI is shown to decrease CO2 emissions in the long term, lending credence to the pollution halo hypothesis. Furthermore, short‐term averages show that CFDI increases CO2 emissions, lending credence to the pollution haven hypothesis. However, the short‐term results showed substantial variation on how CFDI affects CO2 emissions. The research shows that short‐term CFDI is associated with reduction in CO2 emissions in Burundi and Rwanda but increases them in the Congo Republic, Gabon, and South Africa. Some policy suggestions based on the results are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political settlement analysis (PSA) has become a common approach scholars use to study socioeconomic differences among African countries. However, less attention has been given to how political settlement influences how African countries interact with their foreign counterparts. In this article, we illustrate the impact of political settlement on foreign policy by analyzing Ethiopia's interactions with China. As one of China's closest economic partners in Africa, Ethiopia, with its long-standing ethnic cleavages and political instability in the last few years, represents an ideal case for this topic. We find that the evolving political settlement in Ethiopia has greatly influenced the official engagements between the two countries. Over time, various Chinese actors have also developed a more nuanced understanding of the political dynamics of Ethiopia and the associated risks of investing in the country. Our study contributes to an emerging literature that emphasizes the power of local agencies in influencing China–Africa relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between Africa and the developed world has been a subject of much discussion over the years. Recently, however, there has been a lot of controversy around China's activities in Africa. Several criticisms have arisen alleging the exploitation of Africa by China. This study set out to examine China's activities on the African continent with a focus on Ghana and Ethiopia to clearly reveal the various sides of the argument and put them into perspective. The study also sought to establish whether a new scramble is occurring in Africa, with neocolonialist strategies. The study relied on the realist theory to understand China's intentions regarding its activities on the continent and on neocolonialism to explore any incidence of a new scramble. Secondary sources were employed to collect data for analysis. The study found that although some of the activities of China on the continent were questionable, they have been partially beneficial to the continent. Africa is not as vulnerable as perceived but has the capacity to leverage some of its resources to foster its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on China's rising population outflows and the theory of everyday geopolitics, this study discusses how the daily international encounters of emerging Chinese immigrants (re-)write international relations. The study was conducted through fieldwork with new Chinese immigrants in Zimbabwe and reveals two findings. First, Zimbabwean political elites have been knitting a geopolitical discourse through the well-known nationalism and patriotic histories between China and Zimbabwe constructing 'successful and mutually beneficial' Zimbabwe-China relations. However, this elite geopolitical discourse has been facing great challenges among ordinary people in post-2000 Zimbabwe due to the influx of Chinese immigrants. Second,the new Chinese immigrant have been becoming key players in (re-)narrating Zimbabwe-China relations for their unbalanced trade relations with locals, inappropriate behaviours, their precarities, and investment in local public services. This migrant group not only incurs a Sino-phobia sentiment in post-2000 Zimbabwe, but also contributes to the maintaining of the public opinion on the Chinese presence here, articulating a complex and diverse set of geopolitical discourse. This study provides persuasive evidence that everyday practice has a stronger role in knitting together geopolitical discourse than traditional narratives and provides insights for transnational geopolitics to examine heterogeneity, complexity, and diversity of the geopolitical players in more details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Interventions Économiques is the property of Association d'Economie Politique and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper reports on the impact of China's Community of Shared Destiny Policy (CCSDP) on ethnicity, and the development and trade benefits in Africa, whilst proposing suggestions for improvements. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-research (desktop-based and online survey-based) approach was employed. Findings: Trade and foreign direct investment alone can account for 11.8% of changes in the peaceful coexistence of China and some selected African countries, and cause changes to the mutual prosperity of China and African nations, to the tune of 6.3%. Therefore, the activation of mutual prosperity among these nations is not necessarily trade and foreign direct investment. The CCSDP is effective and has increased economic development for ethnic groups (50%), although with some negative concerns. Research limitations/implications: Inadequate/small sample size for the study. Originality/value: Chinese investment in Africa has had a transformative impact, driving economic growth, improving infrastructure, and fostering regional integration. The share of trade between China and Africa in the continent's overall external trade has increased dramatically. Overall, the CCSDP should be kept in place, but with some modifications to improve its effectiveness and mitigate its negative effects. Finally, as China's engagement with Africa evolves, it is vital that partnerships are founded on mutual understanding, respect, and benefit, and that policies reflect the different needs and ambitions of African communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa-China or Sino-African relations continue to grow stronger. Africa sees China as a partner in development in the context of global South-South Cooperation. As a measure of friendship, China constructed the African Union headquarters at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for free. There has been cooperation between China and African countries. Moreover, China's role in Africa during the independence struggles is well noted and its development assistance to the continent has been phenomenal over the years. As Africa and China relations continue, several bottlenecks continue to mar the relationship. This paper highlights the bottlenecks of Africa-China relations by tracing the historical ties between China and African states. It delves into Africa-China relations in terms of South-South Cooperation and China's foreign policy of non-interference in internal matters of other states. It uses 2019 data to analyze China-Africa trade, investments and revenues accruing to both partners. The paper contributes to knowledge not just in terms of bilateral and multilateral relations but in terms of infrastructure trade and investment in Sino-African relations. It concludes that there is a need for China-African relations to achieve mutual benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores China's African public relations and image‐building effort, focusing on Nigeria. Thus, the paper's purpose is twofold: first, to investigate whether China's conduct of public diplomacy through its soft power resource—development assistance—has effectively shaped positive Nigerian public perception of China, and second, to determine the media's role in advancing China's public diplomacy in Nigeria. Specifically, it explores the interaction of economic development assistance, media, and public relations. I do this by comparing China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria (2010–2019) with the public's perception of the FDI's influence on the Nigerian economy (2016 and 2020) and the media's role in shaping public support toward the investments. Utilizing a range of datasets, I find that Chinese economic investment alone is insufficient to substantially shape positive Nigerian public perception of China. Within a framework of mediated public diplomacy, I demonstrate that the Chinese image‐building effort in Nigeria would likely enhance when the country links economic investments with public relations to make the investments more visible through effective media representation. Related Articles: Ayhan, Kadir Jun, and Nancy Snow. 2021. "Introduction to the Special Issue—Global Korea Scholarship: Empirical Evaluation of a Non‐Western Scholarship Program from a Public Diplomacy Perspective." Politics & Policy 49(6): 1282–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12440. Hodzi, Obert, and John H. S. Åberg. 2020. "Introduction to the Special Issue: Strategic Deployment of the China Model in Africa." Politics & Policy 48(5): 804–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12378. Huijgh, Ellen. 2017. "Indonesia's 'Intermestic' Public Diplomacy: Features and Future." Politics & Policy 45(5): 762–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12221. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illicit financial flows have been an issue of great concern over the past decades due to the challenge they present for economic development in Africa. Illicit financial flows undermine the productivity and growth of African economies as countries lose foreign exchange and tax revenues. Countries lose financial resources needed for development programs, hence undermining social service delivery and retarding poverty reduction. To effectively combat illicit financial flows, it is imperative to examine their determinants. This study seeks to examine the determinants of illicit capital movement in the China‐Africa trade through the mechanisms of trade misinvoicing over the period 1990–2019. The IMF's Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) database is used to estimate trade misinvoicing. Estimates using mirror trade data indicate that both exports of Africa to China and imports from China to Africa are mainly underinvoiced. The net effect shows that trade misinvoicing in the China‐Africa trade results in net illicit capital outflow for about 44% of countries in Africa. The results from panel data regressions indicate that tax evasion is one of the major factors behind misinvoicing in China‐Africa trade. In addition, corruption control is found to reduce export underinvoicing, while political stability reduces both export overinvoicing and import overinvoicing. Export misinvoicing increases with the presence of natural resources in the exporting country. Other factors associated with trade misinvoicing in China‐Africa trade include openness to trade, current account deficit, and real exchange rate. The study suggests ways to reduce trade misinvoicing in China‐Africa trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Management & Organization Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

China's economic engagement with Africa has expanded significantly in recent years. While some scholars highlight the engagement as critical for sustainable development in Africa, others argue that the rules of engagement tend to favor China and encourage unequal economic exchange. This article weighs into the discussion on unequal economic exchange. It uses international trade data from 1995 to 2015 to estimate the amount of unequal economic exchange in China's trade with Africa. The estimate is based on a simple method that applies an exchange rate deviation factor to the trade flows between China and Africa, and further adjusts for the difference in labor productivity between the two trading regions. Results show significant unrecorded transfers of value from Africa to China, amounting to 2.5% of the total gross domestic product of African countries during the sample period. The article suggests several policy strategies to improve Chinese engagement with Africa and reinforce the continent's progress towards sustainable development. In addition, the article provides a theoretical and empirical framework that can be useful for analyzing Africa's trade engagement, not only with China, but with other regions of the world as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the many areas of Sino-African cooperation, digital technology is fast gaining prominence. This is because of advancements in digital technology in computing, internet expansion, big data analytics, and automation that are driving wholesale socio-economic transformation on a global scale. The incorporation of new digital technologies is driving economic growth, introducing new security dynamics, and transforming global trade. This paper takes stock of digital cooperation between China and Africa in the last two decades. It zooms in on specific areas of cooperation, such as digital infrastructure, digital content, and digital skills development, which have had a significant impact on the continent's digital economy. However, Africa needs to be more proactive and tread with caution in its digital cooperation with China to avoid digital colonialism. Digital technology is not value-neutral. African countries must ensure that the technology they import from China aligns with African values and interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes fractional integration and cointegration techniques to investigate the stochastic properties of the bilateral linkages between the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) of eight developed economies, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US and five emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, for the time period from 15th January 2010 to 15th July 2019. The univariate results support fractional integration with mean reverting behaviour, with many of the series displaying orders of integration in the interval (0, 1), which connotes that shocks to consumer sentiment have significant long-lasting though reverting effects. From the covariate results and testing for cointegration, we found evidence of cointegration for Australia versus Italy, and France versus Italy. For the BRICS, the only evidence of fractional cointegration is found between Russia and India. Some policy implications of the results obtained are also mentioned at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An average of eight snowfall events occur each year in the eastern Lesotho Highlands. These snowfall events are typically associated with cut-off low (CoLs) systems and mid-latitude cyclones. However, the moisture sources of the snowfall are unclassified and unclear. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, an air mass back trajectory model, has been used to evaluate moisture source waters locally in southern Africa and internationally in China and Europe. This study uses HYSPLIT to determine the source moisture of snow in Lesotho. A list of all 82 snowfall events in Lesotho spanning 2017 to 2022 was compiled using the Snow Report SA Instagram page, including the date and location of snowfall. A 72-hour back trajectory for each snowfall event was initiated for both Afriski and the whole of Lesotho. This amounts to models of moisture source trajectories for 28 and 82 snowfall days, respectively. These air mass pathways are classified according to their frequency per snowfall event, per month in the snow season, per year and for the full period. From this, associated moisture source regions and dominant air mass trajectories were identified. This study reports that the air mass trajectories associated with Afriski and Lesotho as a whole are very similar. The most common pathway of air mass trajectories transporting snow-bearing moisture to Lesotho was an inland trajectory from the northern regions of southern Africa. This pathway makes up 16.6% of all trajectories reported and is associated with the Angola Low, the Congo Air Boundary and the St. Helena High Pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on carry trade by investigating the dynamic correlation and the dependence structure between the US-dollar carry trade and equity markets in the (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)) economies during sample observations that include regular and crisis periods. Furthermore, the nonlinear Granger causality test based on the feed-forward neural networks (FFNN) model assesses how global volatility predicts the dynamic correlation between the US-dollar carry trade and equity markets in BRICS. The paper finds the dynamic correlations between carry trade and equity markets in BRICS are more pronounced during most global crises. Moreover, the results of the symmetrised Joe Clayton (SJC) copula model showed that the lower tail dependence between the two series is higher during the various crises. Furthermore, the results of the empirical analysis show that global volatility predicts the dynamic correlations between carry trade and equity markets in BRICS only during crises. Asset managers and investors can benefit from this paper's findings regarding portfolio diversification, risk management, asset allocation, and hedging when dealing with equity assets and carry trades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRICS, the 15-year-old alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has emerged as an important actor on the global political and economic stage, not least by expanding its membership to include middle-power states Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in early 2024. Much like the countries of the G7 and the EU, BRICS members are among the major players in international agri-food markets. BRICS and the G7 have accounted for around one-seventh of each other's agricultural exports in the past decade. However, excessive protectionism and mounting sanctions as well as ideology-driven de-risking strategies are a high-risk venture that could ultimately lead to isolationism and the formation of blocs. Food insecurity is growing, primarily at the expense of poorer people in the Global South. Against this background, it seems advisable to balance geopolitical and geoeconomic interests by turning away from confrontational Stone Age politics and towards more cooperative approaches, such as more diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews "The Political Economy of Chinese FDI and Spillover Effects in Africa," highlighting the shift in focus from North-South to South-South relations in China-Africa studies. It explores the complexities of Chinese investment in Africa, emphasizing the need for a comparative approach and a deeper understanding of African agency. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Chinese FDI in Africa, discussing the challenges and opportunities it presents, while also addressing the limitations and complexities of studying FDI spillover effects. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the China-Africa Forum Summit 2024, which took place in Beijing from September 4-6. Over 50 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the summit. China offered a financial package of 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion) in credit lines and investments to Africa over three years. The summit focused on partnership actions related to green development, trade connectivity, health, and industrial chain cooperation. China's engagement with Africa at the highest political level has been consistent, and Chinese projects in Africa are now taking a smaller and more targeted approach. The summit also emphasized green energy transition and increasing Chinese investments in manufacturing in Africa. However, the issue of China's role in Africa's debt relief was not addressed adequately. The article also briefly mentions the Philippines and Vietnam's growing defense cooperation in response to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea. [Extracted from the article]

South Africa possesses extremely rich renewable energy resources, including solar energy and wind energy, in spite of this, South Africa traditionally relies on coal as its primary energy source. Recently, South Africa confronted with severe electricity shortage. With pressure of power shortage and the transition to low- carbon energy, South Africa has been actively promoting the development of renewable energy, aiming to diversify its energy structure. China, as the world's leading country in the development and utilization of renewable energy, has long been committed to helping South Africa achieve renewable energy development. This article reviews the cooperation progress between China and South Africa in renewable energy, and provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges currently faced by both sides. To address such challenges, it is suggested to strengthen the design of top-level cooperation mechanisms, create diverse collaboration platforms, prioritize the exchange and collaboration of scientific talents. This paper aims to provide a typical reference for deepening renewable energy cooperation between China and South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been establishing increasingly strong diplomatic and economic ties with Africa, surpassing the investments of the United States on the African continent. The book "China's Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement" explores the various dimensions of this partnership, including diplomatic relations, global interests, regional relations, and China's propaganda efforts in Africa. The book also analyzes China's efforts to ensure a stable supply of natural resources in Africa, food security, and security cooperation between China and African countries. Additionally, it examines competing security interests in the Western Indian Ocean. [Extracted from the article]

The 'Scramble for Africa' has historically been a concept used to describe the plunder of Africa by colonial powers, their subsequent economic capture of African resources, their political control and their racial domination of Africans. But, in recent times, many writers have pointed to Chinese 'Scramble for Africa'. Of these depictions, The Economist 's has been both categorical and relentless. But is the set of relationships between China and African countries imperial? Does it amount to a Chinese 'Scramble for Africa'? If so, what can be done; if not, why not? Neither content nor institutional analyses of 27 stories, sampled from 132 issues of The Economist from 2019 to 2021, show conclusive evidence that the relationship between China and Africa is imperial. Evidence of African indebtedness to China, Chinese opaque resource transactions in Africa, and the controlling effect of China's Belt and Road Initiative typically emphasised by The Economist is serious. But it does not amount to economic plunder, political control, military destabilisation or racial domination. The Economist 's characterisation of China–Africa relations reflects wider processes of Westernisation. Its features include the use of mainstream economic analysis, (mis)representation of the Global South to maintain Western hegemony and inhibiting Southern struggle to break the Western chokehold on global development. As an elite newspaper, The Economist 's 'frame analysis' not only presents news, but also produces views that caricature Global South agendas, especially those that threaten Western liberalism and imperialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance and resilience are widely used to characterize ecosystem drought stability. Tradeoff between resistance and resilience have been reported, but its long‐term trends remain uncertain at global scale. Based on remotely sensed vegetation indices, we assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of drought resistance and resilience. Result revealed that there was a significant decline in the tradeoff between resistance and resilience, corresponding to a substantial increase in the proportion of areas with high resistance‐high resilience or low resistance‐low resilience. In the South Sahel, South Africa and Central China, the increased precipitation and vegetation coverage contribute to enhanced drought stability constructed by resistance and resilience; while rising temperature, decreased water availability and deforestation lead to declined stability in northeastern North America, South America and the Congo region. Increases in the areas with low resistance‐low resilience resulting from declining tradeoffs warn of increased regional ecosystem vulnerability. Plain Language Summary: Drought resistance and resilience describe the two aspects of stability, and the tradeoff between the two describes the drought response patterns of ecosystems with high resistance‐low resilience or low resistance‐high resilience. Under global change, the tradeoff has declined significantly over the past few decades, corresponding to substantial increases in the proportion of areas with low resistance‐low resilience, implying a decrease in drought stability. Here we innovatively assess the changes in the tradeoff between resistance and resilience, highlighting the negative impact of rising temperature, decreasing water availability and deforestation on drought stability. Key Points: The tradeoff between resistance and resilience has declined significantly over the past three decadesIncreases in the proportion of areas with low resistance ‐low resilience reflected the reduced stability of ecosystem to droughtsAttribution analysis showed that rising temperature, decreasing water availability and deforestation led to the decreases in stability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism for studying environmental adaptation. However, the genetic diversity of populations in Asia is poorly understood, leaving a notable gap in our knowledge of the global evolution and adaptation of this species. We sequenced genomes of 292 D. melanogaster strains from various ecological settings in China and analyzed them along with previously published genome sequences. We have identified six global genetic ancestry groups, despite the presence of widespread genetic admixture. The strains from China represent a unique ancestry group, although detectable differentiation exists among populations within China. We deciphered the global migration and demography of D. melanogaster, and identified widespread signals of adaptation, including genetic changes in response to insecticides. We validated the effects of insecticide resistance variants using population cage trials and deep sequencing. This work highlights the importance of population genomics in understanding the genetic underpinnings of adaptation, an effort that is particularly relevant given the deterioration of ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important enabler of the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions. It has the potential to empower intelligent production systems that are central to industry 4.0 and help place worker wellbeing and the planet at the centre of industry 5.0 processes. However, few studies have considered the different roles of AI in industry 4.0 and 5.0. This paper reports on a bibliometric review of 2887 documents examining the use of AI for industry 4.0 and industry 5.0. We found that scholarly activity increased rapidly from 2018 onwards and can be attributed to a large variety of countries, including India, South Africa and China. Our analysis reveals four clusters in the literature, with two showing particular promise for researchers notably around the themes of industry 5.0 and deep learning. Further insights are presented and discussed, followed by a future research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, summits have gained great importance in developing relations with African countries and they have become useful tools to understand intersecting roadmaps on the continent. China, India, Japan, the United States, European countries and Russia conducted various summits and business forums targeting to develop their political, economic and military relations with Africa. In this vein, FOCAC (Forum on China–Africa Cooperation), European Union–Africa Business and Investment Summits, Japan's Africa Development Summits and Russia–Africa Summit provide some details of these powers' Africa policy. Turkey has also emerged as a new actor and summit organizer in Africa since it opened a new page for Africa in its foreign policy in 2005. After being a strategic partner to the African Union in 2008, Turkey has conducted three Turkey–Africa summits, Istanbul (2008), Malabo (2014) and Istanbul (2021), to form its roadmap in Africa. This work aims to analyse the role of Africa–Turkey summits in the development of Turkey's Africa policy and its relationship with African countries. The paper looks at all declarations comprehensively to evaluate Turkey's foreign policy discourse on Africa. Moreover, it examines Turkey's Africa policy implementations and achievements on the continent through the lens of summits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, China has emerged as Africa's largest trade partner and source of foreign direct investment, with public health ranked as a top priority in China–Africa collaborations. During the same period, cancer has emerged as a leading cause of death in Africa, with more than 700 000 deaths per year and projections of more than 1 million deaths per year by 2030. In this Review, we explore the effects of increasing China–Africa collaborations on cancer control in Africa. We review the published literature on health-care assistance, research, education and training, and infrastructure and present the results of an institutional review board-approved survey of African oncology health-care professionals and institutional leaders that assessed their perception of the effects of China–Africa collaborations. From peer-reviewed articles and grey literature, we found that the number of China–Africa collaborations have grown substantially over the past decade in different areas, especially in patient care and infrastructure. Research publications have also surged in quantity in the past decade compared with previous years. However, the survey results suggest research collaborations remain infrequent and that medical professionals in African cancer centres rarely participate in direct research collaborations with Chinese institutions. The Review also highlights the challenges and benefits of increasing China–Africa collaborations. Challenges include insufficient monitoring and evaluation of the projects in Africa and poor coordination and alignment of the various initiatives. The benefits of these collaborations for Africa include improved health outcomes, strengthened health systems, and socioeconomic development. Benefits are also apparent for China, such as securing energy and resource supplies, expanded trade and investment opportunities, and improved diplomatic relations. Overall, China–Africa collaborations are increasing and having a substantial effect in both China and the African continent. Recommendations to minimise the challenges and maximise the benefits for more positive consequences on cancer control in Africa are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines China’s increasing security interests in Africa. It seeks to understand the nature and scope of Chinese engagement in peace and security issues on the continent based on its engagement in international and domestic (African) politics. Through literature analysis and logical reasoning, the author intends to define the implications of China’s new role as a security provider. The paper is based on desk research using primary and secondary data and statistical and comparative analysis of official documents, academic research, and media sources. The methods include literature analysis, logical reasoning, statistical research, comparative analysis, and the inductive method to build general theorems. The paper analyses aspects of China’s security engagement on the African continent: its participation in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, small arms exports, and Beijing’s sharing of technology with African partners. China’s engagement in Africa’s security helps to advance its vital economic and political interests, with limited impact on African security. Key lessons for African partners are offered. The last decades have seen an extraordinary increase in China’s economic and political ties with Africa. Security cooperation followed massive Chinese investments and thousands of Chinese nationals working on the continent. China’s security engagement in Africa protects Beijing’s interests regarding access to resources, markets, political influence, and social credibility. It has little to do with a benevolent will to help Africa deal with instability or economic underdevelopment. African partners must make necessary efforts to avoid further dependence on China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese imports replace locally manufactured products in developing countries. The import of consumer goods from China to West Africa is closely linked to commercial travel, and China's border restrictions during the Covid outbreak put a near-halt to such travelling. Furthermore, the pandemic caused a global logistics crisis that disrupted supply chains with production in China. This paper asks whether Ghanaian manufacturers and artisanal producers could take advantage of these disruptions to enhance their competitive position. Did China's border closure provide space for local Ghanaian producers to thrive? We address this question by drawing on data collected among Ghanaian plastic manufacturers and furniture makers, who have faced tough competition from Chinese imports. Our analysis shows that supply chain disruptions from China led to the substitution of certain products previously imported from China, and these effects were partially sustained after the Covid-induced barriers to imports from China were removed. However, the disruptions were also costly for many Ghanaian producers, as they depended on Chinese intermediary products, tools, and other inputs. This illustrates how economic lives in Ghana and China have become so profoundly intertwined that indiscriminate decoupling is neither possible nor desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris administration working toward the resetting of policies and strategies toward Africa and China, the question of whether African journalists will be accorded a chance to tell an African narrative amid the trilateral relationship has become more apparent. The influence exerted by China in African poses questions of whether China is "constructively" reporting Africa and whether journalists do see themselves as telling an African story. This study interrogates the role of African journalistic paradigms within a broader framework of what it means to constructively report Africa. It argues that despite the overwhelming challenges, the African media can tell its narrative if, (a). it seriously interrogates its journalism education system, (b). focus on in-depth reporting as opposed to efficiency and convenience, and (c). value its epistemologies and localize its content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research brief examines China's international institutions and their impact on China's rise as a global power. It discusses initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, and explores whether these institutions challenge the existing U.S.-led liberal order. The article also considers different perspectives on China's multilateral institutions, including their cooperative and competitive strategies, their role in contesting the existing order, and their influence on international norms and identities. The research provides a nuanced understanding of China's new multilateral institutions and their implications for Chinese foreign policy. [Extracted from the article]

Precast composite structures are new trend in construction technology in China due to their high sustainability and structural performance. As Chinese construction companies enter Africa continuously, the Chinese developed technologies are increasingly applied in Africa. A novel precast prestressing composite structure, developed in China, is believed to have a good prospect in Africa. In this study, a design method of the novel precast structure based on the African design system was developed to promote the application in Africa. The structural design systems in Africa and China were compared to help designers know the difference between the two design systems and develop a better design method for the new precast prestressed composite frame in Africa. It can be found that the basic theory of the two design systems is similar, but the technical design parameters and equations are different. The structural design method of the novel precast structure was built with African design system. The basic structural design steps based on the limit state method according to Eurocodes were established, and the seismic design process for the novel precast structure was also developed based on equivalent lateral seismic force method. Some important structural details of the novel frame for earthquakes based on African manner were presented. The developed detailed design method of the novel structure was applied by designing a four storey novel building structure expected in Huye City at Southern Province of Rwanda. The design results were validated by comparison with results of the novel four storey building structure constructed in Suzhou, China. It is shown that both design systems provide safe design since all the results are within allowable limit, and the Chinese design method is more economical but the African design method is more conservative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book review discusses Jodie Yuzhou Sun's monograph, "Kenya's and Zambia's Relations with China 1949-2019," which examines the history of post-colonial Kenya's and Zambia's relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) from ideological, political, economic, and social perspectives. The book challenges national histories and explores how these relations shaped historical narratives and contemporary issues. It also highlights the concept of 'African agency' and the role of various actors in directing the nature of China-Africa relations. The book is based on extensive research using secondary literature, archival resources, and oral histories. It contributes to the growing body of research on China-Africa relations and promotes pluralism in knowledge production. [Extracted from the article]

Term limit changes are significantly linked to political instability in Africa. Yet, it is ignored as an issue in the trilateral cooperation between European Union (EU), China and Africa. Indeed, a central question that could face both the EU and China over term limits in Africa is the extent to which it is legitimate for them to take action against attempts to violate term limits. This paper is an attempt to consider joint EU and China influence on African politics from the perspective of term limits. Why and how have/should EU and China respond to term limits? How can a trilateral cooperation between EU, China and Africa help institutionalize the respect of term limits? With the help of qualitative and quantitative data from official communiqués, events, and reports, the paper considers term limits as major political issue EU, China and Africa must care about given that it is a major factor of State fragility and political instability. It finds that a grounded trilateral policy framework on term limits is not only possible in an EU-China-Africa cooperation, but can strengthen democratic institutions in the continent and reflect the genuine commitment of the EU and China to promote sustainable democracy and political stability in Africa. If the EU and China want sustainable development of Africa, then the issue of presidential term limits must be significantly addressed within a trilateral cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to highlight the importance of south-to-south cooperation in remote sensing and present preliminary results from our joint project between China and South Africa, focusing on multi-sensor remote sensing data for food security. Scientometric analysis was used to demonstrate growing research output and cooperation among countries in the Global South. Furthermore, the first results of our crop classification methods were presented on a test site in the Sanjiang Plain, China. The preliminary crop classification results from this test site showed promising accuracy. South-to-south cooperation in remote sensing has the potential to address shared challenges and promote sustainable development through exchange of knowledge and resources. The ongoing joint project between China and South Africa demonstrates the benefits of such collaboration in developing robust remote sensing techniques for improved food security monitoring and decision making in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]