China’s influence in African media narratives and digital space

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1947, Africa has been
crucial to China’s foreign policy. First, China supported several
African liberation movements during the Cold War. Second, in
November 2003, the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was
created to improve cooperation between China and African states
and third, Xi Jinping announced China's Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI) in 2013, which aimed to reinvigorate the old silk trading
route along the East African coast. Furthermore, a relatively
unknown fact is that China has made significant investments in
Africa's digital space.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is
joined by Alicia García-Herrero and Iginio Gagliardone to talk
about China’s image and digital influence in Africa. They discuss
specific examples of successful and unsuccessful media narratives
built by China and assess the role that Europe plays in relation
to China and Africa's digital influence.



Relevant publication:


The Belt and Road Initiative transformation makes it a more –
not less- useful tool for China

Imperial Remains and Imperial Invitations: Centering Race
within the Contemporary Large-Scale Infrastructures of East
Africa

Comparing North-South technology transfer and South-South
technology transfer: The technology transfer impact of Ethiopian
Wind Farms



This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound
of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel,
bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from
Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in
the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project
has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research
and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.