Past Seminars and Events

China's Historical Aid and Contemporary Investment in Africa

Publish Time:2018-06-06



Date & Time:June 6, 2018  15:30 p.m.-17:00 p.m.

Venue:SEM 411 Meeting Room

Inviter:Professor Ding Lu



Abstract:


The dramatic rise in Chinese investment in Africa in recent years has sparked significant research interest. Using new historical data on Chinese aid in Africa, we find a significant positive association between historical Chinese aid and contemporary investment in Africa. We suggest an innovative explanation for how Chinese investors manage political risk in Africa both at the macro and micro levels. China’s historical aid in Africa, albeit being politically driven, has unexpected long-term consequences for the behavior of commercial Chinese investors.



Speaker Biography:


ZHENG Yu is a Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University. He received his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego and a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Prior to joining Fudan, has had taught at the University of Connecticut as an Associate Professor. His research interests include international development, aid and investment, industrialization, and business-government relations. He is the author of Governance and Foreign Investment in China, India, and Taiwan: Credibility, Flexibility, and International Business (University of Michigan Press). His publications have also appeared in journals such as Comparative Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Socio-Economic Review, Studies in Comparative International Development, and others.