15 November 2024

The September 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation turned the world’s attention to the strategic connections between China and African nations. This forum, which was held in Beijing, featured 51 African heads of state, indicating the increasing importance of these relations. China is also hoping to expand relations with African states, through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and soft power ambitions. While positive aspirations seem abundant on both sides of the Africa-China links, there are a number of challenges and complicated tensions. Balancing trade and security concerns, developing infrastructure in a way that does not handicap nations with overwhelming debt, and enhancing knowledge and education in a culturally sensitive framework are some of the issues facing China-Africa relations. How these two regions continue to develop in a multipolar global economy will have an enormous impact on the world economy and geopolitical state of affairs. This symposium gathers experts who will discuss the status of Africa-China ties from multiple perspectives. Topics covered include how military engagements may mitigate or enhance security concerns, the effects in African nations of Chinese infrastructure loans, the influence of the African Diaspora in the US on China-Africa relations, environmental risks that Chinese investment brings to some regions of Africa, and how Chinese diplomacy utilizes “relational power” through training African government officials. Through these talks, this symposium hopes to further promote informed discourse on Africa-China connections and the implications of these for global governance and the rest of the world.  

Spurned by the September 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, CAS and East Asia Studies Center (EASC) convened a China-Africa Relations Symposium to strategically visit the state of cooperation between China and Africa. The panelists were U.S. Ambassador David Shinn (George Washington University), Dr. Phiwokuhle Mnyandu (Howard University), Jyhjong Hwang, PhD candidate (Ohio State - Boston University), Dr. Joshua Hill (Ohio University), Professor Joshua Eisenman (University of Notre Dame), Dr. Asma Belem (Georgetown University), and Professor Yoon Jung Park (Georgetown University).

CAS Director, Dr. Kobo, opened the symposium with welcoming remarks. We organized in-person attendance and participation by Zoom. Notably following via Zoom was Simona Vaclavikova, the International Affairs Director to the Commanding General of the Ohio National Guard. Light breakfast and full lunch were served (both African and Chinese cuisine).