Institute of Development Studies

Understanding Chinese Investment and its Impacts in East Africa

China's engagement with Africa has continued to attract much attention across the world. A debate has formed about the benefits of this engagement on Africa's development. Jing Gu is leading this project to identify and evaluate the implications of Chinese FDI on African development.

Expanding on previous work Gu will explore the domestic linkages and domestic expectations by establishing links to research institutes in Kenya and Ethiopia.

By extending the research to Ethiopia and Kenya, the results will give more validity to the findings already established from work in Ghana, Madagascar and Nigeria.

Activities:

• An overall assessment of level and destinations of Chinese FDI in Ethiopia and Kenya based on the collection of data from the Ministry of Commerce in China, Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Ethiopian and Kenyan Investment Promoting Agencies
• In-depth interview work with Chinese investors in Ethiopia and Kenya.

The research is set to run for 12 months, including three phases:

1. Research design, survey preparation and project team consultation
2. Data collection and analysis.
3. Writing-up and dissemination.

Furthermore, having identified areas that have not been largely researched, this project will also consider 'how gender related issues are understood and addressed among Chinese and African policymakers and civil society organisations and Chinese investors' and 'what do African politicians and NGOs expect to get from China?'

• IDS key contact: Jing Gu
• Project dates: March 2010 - March 2012
• Project status: Open
• Funder: Department for International Development (DFID)

Researchers

• Jing Gu
• Dorothy McCormick, Institute for Development Studies, Nairobi
• Kaiyong Ge, China-Africa Business Council
• Alemayehu Geda, Addis Ababa University

Partner Organisations

• Addis Ababa University (AAU)
• Institute for Development Studies, Nairobi
• China-Africa Business Council (CABC)