A constructed (un)reality on China's re-entry into Africa: the Chinese online community perception of Africa (2006–2008)

Shen, Simon

doi:10.1017/s0022278x09003991

Cited by 31 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…While such dramatic events point to some of the hidden fault lines in China's existing immigration policy, some Western media interpret them as evidence of anti‐black racism in China (Osnos ; Beech ). Existing literature mainly focuses on African migrants’ business and community building strategies in the face of China's stringent immigration control (Bodomo ; Castillo ; Haugen ; Li et al ; Lyons et al ; Yang ). Relatively little has been written on the racial implications of the Africa diaspora in China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the weblogs of Liu Zhirong, a French‐educated businessman with ten years of experience working in Africa, Africans were constructed as racially inferior to Chinese and unworthy of Chinese aid due to their greedy nature and their discrimination against Chinese people in Africa. Based on online data between 2006 and 2008, Shen () identifies a paradox in Chinese perceptions of China's reentry into Africa. On the one hand, Africans were constructed as inferior Chinese partners and low priority financial recipients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Shifting Meanings of Race in China: A Case Study of the African Diaspora Communities in Guangzhou

Lan

2016

City & Society

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Based on archival research and multi‐sited fieldwork among Chinese and migrants from Africa in Guangzhou, Yiwu (China), and Lagos (Nigeria), this research explores the contradictions and unevenness in the racialization of black African identity in South China. I argue that racism against black Africans in Guangzhou needs to be contextualized within larger contexts such as the rise of China as a global economic power, its changing relations with Africa under the Mao and post‐Mao regimes, the intersection of internal and international migration in global cities such as Guangzhou, and the persistent influence of Western racial ideology in popular media. [African Migrants; China; Blackness; Race; Racism]

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Shifting Meanings of Race in China: A Case Study of the African Diaspora Communities in Guangzhou

Lan

2016

City & Society

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“…This is an assumption that should be borne in mind, although as discussed earlier, ren may well be directed toward African staff. Yet this assumption should also be informed by the reports of Chinese nationalistic tendencies mentioned earlier (Dikkoter, 1994;Jacques, 2009;S. Shen, 2009), which may reinforce an exclusive in-group ethos among Chinese managers in corporations in Africa.…”

Section: Assumption 4: a Growing Emphasis On Harmonious Social Relatimentioning

confidence: 94%

Employment in Chinese MNEs: Appraising the Dragon's Gift to Sub‐Saharan Africa

Jackson¹

2014

Human Resource Management

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The presence of China in Africa has introduced a new geopolitical dynamic that should be incorporated into the way international HRM is studied cross-culturally. Despite a growing literature on China's international relations with and investment in Africa, little previous study has been undertaken at organizational level. We review relevant literature, together with that on management and organization in Africa and China, to develop a conceptual framework that incorporates critiques of North-South interactions including DependencyTheories that posits first world development is based on third world underdevelopment, and Postcolonial Theory that posits the South's knowledge dependency on the North. We consider how a growing South-South dynamic may be integrated into a consideration of power dynamics and cultural crossvergence, and construct organizational and management 'ideal types' to enable us to frame a research agenda in this area. This is important as it is difficult to sustain cross-cultural scholarship merely on cultural comparisons. By providing a way of studying cultural hybrid forms of organization, or cultural 'third spaces', it is hoped this will contribute to understanding the implications to people management practice in South-South partnerships, not only in Chinese organizations in Africa, but to contribute theoretically to the development of cross-cultural management studies and its application to International HRM. Key wordChina in Africa; postcolonial theory; dependency theory; cross-cultural management 3 The significance of China in AfricaThere is a growing interest in the West, and a growing literature, on the presence of China in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet this largely focuses on the macro-issues of international relations, international development and international trade and investment, and largely the intent of China in its relations with African countries, and indeed other countries and regions in the South. For example Biggeri and Sanfilippo (2008) proffer that China's move into African countries is driven by the three factors of FDI, trade and economic development, as well as by the 'pull' factor of the characteristics of the receiving country, of natural resource endowment and market potential. This is an ongoing debate that will be explored later. Yet there is almost a complete absence of published literature that focuses on organizational level issues, including the implications for the management of people in Chinese-owned or led organizations and enterprises. Firstly, this paper sets out the importance of this area in theoretical terms, with implications for both considerations of managing people in Africa and internationally, and the further development of an important sub-discipline, cross-cultural management, which could make further contributions to the study of international HRM. It then seeks, secondly, to develop a theoretical framework which can be used to both contextualize and conceptualize a research agenda in this area that can develop knowledge in this area, and ...

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“…This was exacerbated by poor infrastructure such as regular power failures and a lack of public transport so that they could not operate shift systems as they would in China. A study of Chinese internet sites discussing Africa (Shen 2009) echoes this where Africans are discussed in terms of laziness, lasciviousness and immorality.…”

Section: Multiple Flows and Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…China's view of Africa is one of strategic opportunity rather than negativity with the official discourse of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) based on a realist recognition of business opportunities and 'win-win' relationships with Africa. That said, Shen's (2009) analysis of Chinese websites discussing Africa is that it is a thin line between seeing Africans as rooted in tradition and one where they are seen as lazy and lascivious, and not ready for or worthy of development. So, the representation of Africa as 'traditional' may conceal a self-presentation of China as both a responsible and modernizing power in which it creates 'others' who are in need of assistance (Nyiri 2006 ), a role often bound up in a growing national(ist) confidence (Callahan 2008 ).…”

Section: Introduction: the Geopolitics Of Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%