Chinese goods in Africa: new extraversions, orientations, and expressions of African agency

Khan-Mohammad, Guive; Kernen, Antoine

doi:10.1080/21681392.2023.2200013

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…This paper uses Global China as a concept to gain a more holistic view of how Chinese goods, their producers and traders impact the mediation of fashion in a South-South context, instrumentalising and appropriating a messenger service from the Global North while doing so. Thereby, it shines light on fashion as an often trivialised but important product category in Chinese-African trade (Khan-Mohammad & Kernen, 2023). In 2020, the market value of clothing and footwear in all of sub-Saharan Africa was approximately 31 billion USD (UNESCO, 2023), while most of these items were imported from China (UN Comtrade, 2020).…”

Section: Global China and Mediationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A focus on the actual and often indirect and uncontrolled impact of those policies is needed instead. This includes the large amounts of Chinese-made products that are arriving in African countries in immense and constantly changing variety (Khan-Mohammad & Kernen, 2023;von Pezold, 2022) as well as the people who import and sell these goods. This paper is specifically looking into the ways in which Chinese-made garments are sold and promoted in Mozambique via the messenger service WhatsApp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global China and everyday mediation in the Global South: Selling Chinese fashion in Mozambique via WhatsApp

von Pezold

2023

Global Media and China

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Combining online and offline data collection during six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Southern Mozambique in early 2021, this paper explores how media and its everyday use in the Global South are impacting on, and are in turn being transformed by China. It specifically looks into the creative and personalised ways in which Chinese-made garments are sold and promoted in Mozambique via the messenger service WhatsApp. Examining how Mozambican and West African traders use WhatsApp groups and status updates to mediate the fashionability of these Chinese goods, this paper shows that the consequences of Chinese interactions with the Global South on the global media landscape transcend the mere spread of Chinese hardware and software. Going beyond dominant, state-centred narratives of Chinese influence abroad, this paper demonstrates the key role of individuals and their agency in shaping the digital impact of Global China. By doing so, it also highlights the importance of analysing media practices in their specific local contexts.

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Section: Global China and Mediationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global China and everyday mediation in the Global South: Selling Chinese fashion in Mozambique via WhatsApp

von Pezold

2023

Global Media and China

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Transnational Chinese Beautyscapes: Ghetto Glamour and Fake Beauty in Abidjan

Ndjio

2024

Africa Spectrum

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This article explores how beauty and fashion practices and imagination have evolved in Ivory Coast since the early 2000s, using secondary sources and ethnographic research conducted in Abidjan in 2017. In addition to identifying alternatives to prevalent Western norms of beauty and style, the article highlights the expansion of Chinese beautyscapes and the ongoing Sinonization of local fashion and aesthetic cultures. It also draws attention to the contradictory features of bobaraba, a term increasingly used to describe Chinese-made clothing and beauty accessories. Though bobaraba is praised as a ghetto glamour and an expression of the urban poor's participation in the global consumer culture, it is frequently viewed as “fake beauty” intended to create an illusion of beauty. This article demonstrates that Chinese consumer goods are increasingly influencing contemporary African fashion culture, beauty ideals, body stylisation, and even sexuality.

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Circulations marchandes et mondialisation des pauvres : transformations sociales et spatiales vues des Suds

Bouhali,

Doron,

Racaud

2023

suds

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À partir de lieux marchands marqués par l'informalité, lieux d'ancrage de la mondialisation des pauvres (Choplin et Pliez 2018) et/ou de lieux marchands à forte intensité capitalistique, ce numéro porte sur les transformations sociales et spatiales impulsées par les circulations de marchandises, d'acteurs et de capitaux, le long des itinéraires empruntés. Le dossier vise à documenter les effets des circulations marchandes sur la production de l'espace et sur le quotidien des acteurs, que ce soit en tant qu'opportunité économique ou de consommation.

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Chinese goods in Africa: new extraversions, orientations, and expressions of African agency

Cited by 4 publications

References 71 publications

Global China and everyday mediation in the Global South: Selling Chinese fashion in Mozambique via WhatsApp

Global China and everyday mediation in the Global South: Selling Chinese fashion in Mozambique via WhatsApp

Transnational Chinese Beautyscapes: Ghetto Glamour and Fake Beauty in Abidjan

Circulations marchandes et mondialisation des pauvres : transformations sociales et spatiales vues des Suds

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