Being Black in China versus being African in China

Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu once again delve into discussions about race in China, and to help guide them through the discussion is Mr. Marketus Presswood, who is pursuing his PhD in Modern Chinese History and has a broad interest in the experience of African-Americans and the African Diaspora as whole in China. Back in July, he wrote a fantastic article for Tea Leaf Nation/The Atlantic called "A Minority in the Middle Kingdom: My Experience Being Black in China," which, well, talked about being black in China. He also has extensive experience in international education, including bringing African-American students to study abroad in China, where he lived for eight years. We asked him to share his thoughts on being Black in China versus being African in China.

PS We actually did line up an African guest but sadly things did not work out! We are not trying to ignore African voices on the subject!

Recommendations

• Winslow
• Hunt is on for China experts by Joseph Catanzaro and Hou Liqiang
• Four Great Reads on Emerging markets by Merlin Linehan
• Political clash in world's youngest country grows into wider South Sudan unrest by PBS NewsHour
•  Dr. Kalu
• The Star Raft: China's Encounter With Africa by Philip Snow
• If Nelson Mandela really had won, he wouldn't be seen as a universal hero by Slavoj Žižek
• Marketus Presswood
• War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War by John Dower
• The Discourse of Race in Modern China by Frank Dikotter

Sources

A Minority in the Middle Kingdom: My Experience Being Black in China by Marketus Presswood

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

The Africa Daily

A lesson in Soft Power

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Nkem

On Africa’s earliest interaction and trade with China, Philip Snow in The Star Raft: China’s Encounter with Africa had the following to say:

A Star Raft was an expedition which carried to the exotic lands the star-like radiance of an imperial ambassador, and the object of its voyage was to win for the emperor the allegiance of distant peoples. The exchange of goods was laden in Chinese eyes with a symbolic significance far outweighing the value of the goods themselves. By trading with the fleet, the African coastal states were paying the Ming emperor the homage they owed him as the sovereign of the world (p. 27).
How different all the same these Chinese visitors were from the Europeans who arrived in Africa seventy years later. Travelling in thousands, armed to the teeth, the Chinese were not aggressive. Unlike the Portuguese they stormed no cities and conquered no land. Even if the sixteenth-century novelist was right to describe an initial conflict, he also makes it clear that the Chinese were tactful, anxious to avoid disturbing the small coastal states any more than was necessary to achieve their basic ends. Unlike the Portuguese they refrained from plunder. Instead they coaxed the coastal rulers into trading by presenting them with gifts of coloured silk. They did not burn, as the Portuguese would, with the urge to impose their religious convictions, to lay siege to African souls. All they sought from Africans was a gesture of symbolic acquiescence in the Chinese view of the world. Mogadishu and Brava, for their part, were happy enough with the relationship to send their envoys to Peking three further times while the Chinese Columbus was on the seas. The Chinese accepted, because the Chinese treated a weak and strange people with courtesy and restraint (p.29).

The quotes above are some of my favorite from Snow’s now dated but still relevant tome on early Chinese interaction with Africa. In many ways his observations can be reframed to represent aspect of current permutations of Sino-African relations in today’s increasingly multi-polar world. For instance, Chinese insistence on African acceptance of the One China Policy as the foundation for diplomatic relations is a symbolic acquiescence to the People’s Republic of China’s communist party’s government’s value for sovereignty. Similarly, Chinese courtship and respect, for economically weak and culturally different African states have won them favor and political support in the international political arena. Although early Chinese relations with African freedom fighting efforts sought to support and promote a socialist/communist agenda, recently the Chinese have not urged African states to adhere to any particular political convictions. But it is naive to believe that the Chinese are not following an economic or political agenda in Africa. Just as the Star Rafts brought glory and prestige to the Emperor, Chinese engagement in Africa is in pursuit of domestic Chinese objectives; much like everyone else is in Africa to pursue their own objectives.

The soft approach is also no longer unique to the Chinese as the US, the UK, and Germany are taking a page out of their playbook and reinforcing their diplomatic relations with African states. In today’s world of multi-polarity and increasing options, despite the retention of the US’s hegemonic influence, the use of soft power is at times more effective than the use of hard power. Easy access to information has increased the value of critical discourse. I would argue that there is a need to push this discourse and to continue to examine foreign policy successes and failures for African states engaging with external actors and the reverse to flesh out best practices and reduce redundancy and ineffectiveness.

Easier said than done.

Mandela, Mao, Media, and Memory

Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu ask how Nelson Mandela's recent death is being interpreted in China. Returning to the show is Mr. Bob Wekesa, an expert on African-Chinese media relations who has written a number of articles on the subject. Wekesa is a PhD candidate at Communication University of China and research associate at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Recommendations

• Winslow
• Hao Ping recalls the last speech given by Mandela in China by UNESCO
• Made in China: the professional expat by Dineo Bendile
•  Dr. Kalu
• Mandela Was Angry With Nigeria By Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed by Sahara Reporters
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by South Africa-Washington International Program by Justin Chadwick
• Bob Wekesa
• The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa by Prof. Deborah Brautigam
• China and Africa: A Century of Engagement by Amb. David Shinn and Joshua Eisenman

Sources

Mandela and the China connection by Bob Wekesa

A road well traveled by Bob Wekesa

Mandela's China Connection by Eric Olander and Dr. Cobus van Staden

A controversial legacy by Analects: The Economist

China's Mandela problem by Phelim Kine

China Spins Mandela to Fit Its Political Narrative by Dan Levin

China media: Mandela tributes by BBC News: China

Mandela’s tour abroad – China by ANC Archives

Beijing bans ‘sensitive topics’ during Mandela funeral coverage by Zhang Hong

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

The Africa Daily

What's Anthropology got to do with it?

Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu (back from vacation) asked Vivian Lu, PhD student at Stanford University's Department of Anthropology, for her thoughts on the Sino-Africa field, whether such a field exists, the importance of fieldwork, and, most importantly, to share some wacky stories from the field.

Recommendations

• Winslow
• Who is a terrorist? by Dr. Nkemjika Kalu
• China's Treatment of Foreign Journalists by Congressional-Executive Commission on China
• U.S.-China Relations Year in Review 2013 The Year of the Snake, Sunnylands, and Suppression (and a Plenum and an ADIZ) by Kissinger Institute on China and the United States
•  Dr. Kalu
• Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela
• "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" Private Screening and Reception by South Africa-Washington International Program
• Vivian Lu
• A Flight Diversion by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Sources

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

The Africa Daily

Who is a terrorist?

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Nkem

There are people in America that want to be sure that you KNOW that Nelson Mandela was a terrorist and they stand by that. I am irritated and frankly quite annoyed at their audacity.

I have read enough tweets, blogs, Facebook status updates and the like reiterating this point and “politely” pointing out that Nelson Mandela our revered hero is not perfect. Let me let you in on a not-so-secret fact that everyone in Africa is already aware of, Nelson Mandela is not perfect. Come a little closer and I’ll tell you the particularly gory reason why… it’s because he is human! He is a hero because of his humanity, because of his imperfections.

I’m not writing to defend Nelson Mandela. I don’t need to. But I will say this, as a child of Africa’s turgid ethnic, religious, racial, socio-economic, violent conflict, Nelson Mandela symbolized an end to seeming endless violence and oppression, Madiba symbolized hope when no solution was in sight. As a young African looking to the future, Mandela modeled responsible leadership, humility and peacemaking, characteristics unfortunately in short supply in most African leaders going back several years. Africa and I say Africa, because Madiba belonged to Africa just as much as he did to South Africa, and in the same token the world, didn’t need perfection, it needed Mandela. A man who greatness is unmatched amongst the faces and celebrities that brand this current generation.