Role Tension and Adaptation in a Chinese Agricultural Aid Project in Mozambique

Abstract

Role theory was applied to analysis of the interaction process of various actors engaged in a Chinese aid project in Africa to explore who drove the implementation process and to reveal the hidden logic of China's foreign aid. The result revealed that the framework imposed by the State created space for actors from China and from Africa to exert agency to achieve common goals. The interaction process was constructed through role consolidation and concessions of different actors, which indicates that the project implementation was not driven by one side but rather by the mutual adaptation of the various actors involved. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ownership and Effectiveness of China’s Aid Projects in Africa

“…As the flagship Chinese aid project to Africa, ATDCs have aroused the interest of many scholars since their initiation. The existing research on ATDCs falls into two categories: (1) social anthropological research focusing on the process and intention of ATDCs, with the aim of revealing the central features of the projects from the Chinese perspective (Li, Tang and Lu 2017;Xu et al 2016); and (2) more nuanced investigations of the interaction between Chinese stakeholders and local counterparts, revealing the multiple realities and relationships during the process of project implementation (Zhang et al 2019;Gu et al 2016;Scoones, Cabral and Tugendhat 2013). However, there is minimal explanation about the variance of the performance of ATDCs in different African countries from both partner countries' perspectives.…”

“…11 Chinese policymakers also think that the centre is an important platform for China-Mozambique cooperation and exchange. This is in large part due to the flexibility and compromise made by both parties at the local level (Zhang et al 2019). (Fang 2019).…”