Land and Chinese Private Investment in Kenya: From Real Estate to Agriculture

By Hongxiang Huang, Yin Qiu, Mingxuan Huang
[Editors Note: China House is a client of Cowries and Rice]

Between 2013 and 2014, 35 km from downtown Nairobi, a group of ambitious Chinese investors planned a 300-acre real estate mega investment – City of Harmony. It was going to be the China city of Kenya: stores; factories; residential homes; and offices. Hundreds of Chinese businessmen were the shareholders of this project and investment flooded in from many parts of China. Kenya’s role in China’s One Belt One Road meant that a there were potentially huge profits to be made by early speculators.However, in 2015 this project ended with a lawsuit, and the City of Harmony was gone.

"Li Wenjie, one of the major shareholders and a businessman in Kenya, colluded with locals and committed land fraud of over 20 million rmb [$3.8 million], and he blamed me for cheating the system," said Guo Dong, another major player of this mega project. In his eyes, a Chinese con man is almost worse than a Kenyan one, as many Chinese businessmen trust their countrymen, making them easy to exploit.

To date, Guo Dong and Li Wenjie have not resolved their case in Kenya.

Land deals have translated into overnight fortunes in China. When it comes to Chinese private investment in Africa, real estate follows a similar pattern as it is seen as one of the most profitable investment options. In Kenya, there is a famous story about four elderly Sichuanese Chinese businessmen who, around 2007, came to Kenya to work on a state engineering project. Having realized there was great opportunity for profit, these four businessmen quit their job and each put up 2.5 million rmb [$385,000] to buy a piece of land and develop it into residential housing. They each ended up making 10 million rmb [$1.5 million] from their investment.

This story, dubbed the "Four Chinese Elders Dug Gold in Africa", inspired many other Chinese entrepreneurs to come to Kenya for real estate, which was hugely profitable as land price rose 535% from 2007 through today. Currently, real estate is still one of the hottest destinations of Chinese private investment in Kenya. However, without enough local knowledge and experience, a lot of money is lost as well.

"When we started building the house, some people came to us and said this land belonged to them. More importantly, they presented their deeds, which were as authentic as ours," recalls a Chinese businessman in Kenya who does not want to reveal his name. According to our research, this kind of situation is very common in Kenya.

"Because of a multitude of reasons, problematic land deeds are common in Kenya, and good land titling is crucial," explained Faith Kanaga, a Kenyan lawyer who specializes in land transactions. According to Kanaga and other lawyers, when foreign investors do not understand the local context, it is easy to be cheated by many so-called "brokers", Kenyan and foreigner alike.

"Chinese investors do not have good service channel when they come to Africa, and therefore a lot of times they run into problems. And because there is no good platform to share knowledge, many Chinese investors can run into fraud since they never share lessons learned regarding problematic land titling," said Sherry, a Chinese entrepreneur who has lived in Kenya for over 20 years.

However, despite these risks, Kenyan land keeps attracting Chinese investors.

Mike, a real estate broker in Nairobi, told us that "the Chinese want land plots in Nairobi, and only in prime areas."

As developable land in Nairobi becomes more and more scarce, a handful of Chinese businesspeople have started to look into rural lands as well, but not solely as a real estate investment. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2009, Kenya was the world’s largest grower of pyrethrum, a flower used to make insecticide. However, due to management issues, this industry declined in Kenya in recent years.

"We partnered with Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and are aiming to revive this industry," said a Chinese entrepreneur in Kenya who does not want his name or his company to be identified. Today, they are acquiring rural land through partnership with locals, and the lands are producing large quantities of pyrethrum, which will be processed and then shipped to China for further refining.

Beyond pyrethrum, Chinese businesspeople are looking at other opportunities in rural Kenya. For example, Zheng has been cultivating his farm, a one-hour drive north of downtown Nairobi. Unlike many Chinese entrepreneurs who focuses on the city, he believes rural areas host the most profitable new opportunities. Two years ago, he began renting four acres of land and planted Chinese vegetables on them, to test whether they could grow in this foreign soil. Today, his farm has almost dominated the Chinese vegetable supply chain to estimated 40,000 – 60,000 Chinese who are living in Kenya.

"I partner with local farmers, teach them how to grow Chinese vegetables, supply them with seeds, and buy from them when their crops are ready," said Zheng, mentoring his local farmers to harvest vegetables for his customers.

Foreigners are not allowed to purchase land in Kenya, so Zheng partners with locals to make his investment effectively invisible. In his eyes, this saves him a lot of trouble.

“The Chinese have a saying: be quiet and make your money, that is the wisdom” explained Zheng.

The Clean Boardroom: An alternative perspective on Chinese corruption and bribery in Kenya

“I am not a racist but…” Mrs. Zhang (pseudonym) begins smilingly. She is addressing me specifically, staring right at my nose. Still, I miss the end of the sentence. I am busy thinking to myself: has anyone ever started a statement that way and finished it gracefully?

If anyone could, it might be Zhang. I like her immediately. She is in her mid-forties, I am told. I would have guessed she is a decade younger. She runs a travel agency and energetically ushers my two colleagues and me into a clean, white boardroom.

I take in the room. A stark, unadorned contrast to the makeshift construction site offices where I often conduct my interviews, their dirt-covered walls collaged with attendance sheets and architecture floor plans. This is almost sterile in comparison. The blank walls shine in the wooden reflection of a large ovular table. A leafy green plant occupies a corner of the room.

We are here trying to make sense of tax-related issues facing Chinese residents in Kenya. She indulges us, explaining – without malice – her difficulties: “It does not matter how clean the records, how carefully they are maintained. When the revenue authority comes to investigate, they will always find a maobing”—a flaw. From Zhang’s perspective, the turbid tax regulations allow wiggle room for opportunistic officers. There is little to be done but pay up, she declares, still smiling.

Are You a Chinese?

By Zander Rounds

“Are you a Chinese?”

After years in China, ineffectually trying to blur my gangly American edges and blend in, this is one question that I never really imagined I would receive.

And yet, on more than a few occasions since my arrival in Kenya a couple of weeks ago*, Kenyans have curiously posed precisely that: “Are you a Chinese?” Or the other day, while chatting with a Chinese colleague, our Kenyan waiter returned my change, looked me in the eye and un-ironically pronounced, “Xie xie” [Mandarin for ‘thank you’].

Admittedly, it’s the crew that I am now running with. China House (中南屋), a Nairobi-based collective of young Chinese movers and shakers, housed under a common vision of flourishing through collaboration and connection between Chinese and Africans. I am the newest (and most American) member of a team working to integrate two worlds that occupy the same physical universe yet are still often separate: the Kenyan community and the Chinese community residing in Kenya.

Translation Tuesday: The Wedding of a Post-90’s Pair of Workers in Africa

By Zander Rounds

Author: Sun Rui, Bo She
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 5/4/15
Source: Xinhua
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2015-05/04/c_127760578.htm

On May 2, near the eighth section of Nairobi, Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, workers dressed in the clothing of the Masai people delivered their blessings to Post-90’s newlyweds Mu Xuqiang and Li Zhiyuan.

That same day, those in the China Luqiao Engineering LLC Mombasa-Nairobi’s Project Eight camp bore witness as a pair of worker based in central Kenya became happily united in matrimony. Mu Xuqiang, the groom, is inherited the family business. In 2012, the Beijing youngster took root in Africa. Li Zhiyuan, the bride, formerly studied abroad in England. In 2014, the Inner Mongolian girl rushed to Africa. They met and got to know each other while working on the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, eventually deciding to enter into marriage. At the wedding ceremony, two Kenyan girls wearing white dresses stood behind the beautiful bride, lifting the massive wedding dress tail with small hands and revealing pure smiles. The local male workers were draped in red-checkered cloth and grasped long sticks, evoking the spirit of Masai warriors. Female workers wore short, exquisite red dresses and earrings, as if characters from a painting

Translation Tuesday: No Africans allowed? Suspicions about Chinese restaurant discrimination in Kenya provoke widespread anger

By Zander Rounds

Author: Yingying
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 3/25/15
Source: Sohu News
Original text (in Chinese): http://star.news.sohu.com/20150325/n410267717.shtml?qq-pf-to=pcqq.group

A recent scandal involving a Chinese restaurant in Kenya that barred locals after dark made international headlines, revealing tensions surrounding Chinese businesses practices in Africa. Yingying, a Chinese entrepreneur working in the continent, draws on a large survey of ethnic Chinese opinions in Africa to illuminate why the restaurant did what it did, wrong as it was.
---- Zander Rounds

On March 23, the most influential newspaper in Nairobi, Kenya published on its front page a story titled, “Restaurant: Sorry, No Africans, we don’t trust them after dark.” This attracted the attention of ethnic Chinese from all walks of life within Kenyan, and even those in other African countries.

Also on March 23, the author’s Quan Fei Gou [全非购] media platform published an article called, “The lead story in Kenya’s biggest newspaper reports on an incident where some Chinese restaurants bar locals at night; Chinese people, what do you think,” and conducted a survey. Based on the 312 received results, ethnic Chinese in Africa think, first of all, that this practice is painfully embarrassing, and subsequently, that this incident could have been a little more tactfully mediated. They also think that locals should be allowed to dine at night. To resolve public security concerns, restaurants can strengthen security practices. At the same time, the respondents commonly considered Kenyan’s commentary and media coverage of the incident too extreme.

Chinese Companies in Africa: Is Addressing Labor Conflicts Mission Impossible?

By Hou Yixiao

“We have been working together for almost half a year, and they can understand me although I can’t speak English and can only use gestures,” explained a Chinese manager proudly when asked about his relationship with his local staff on a construction site in Nairobi, Kenya. He is in his fifties and is originally from the countryside. Walking inside the construction site of the new Two Rivers shopping mall, there was no shouting, no raised voices when orders were given, and minimal disagreement between local workers and Chinese managers. I could see local workers actively greeting managers and embracing visitors with friendly smiles.

Chinese vice president Li Yuanchao emphasized in the second China Tanzania Investment Forum that China has cooperated with Africa for decades based on “mutual benefit”. China provides Africa badly-needed finance and trade, while Africa provides the PRC with a steady supply of natural resources. According to the Economist, China has been Africa’s top trading partner since 2013.

The contractor for Two Rivers' construction is the Chinese company AVIC International. The mall is planned to be the largest shopping center in East Africa, ideally situated near Nairobi’s diplomatic community and its wealthier residents. Some 200 Chinese employees and 1,000 local workers are working together to build the new mall. The Chinese managers are responsible for training, supervision, and ensuring overall safety; each leads around 20 local workers to accomplish their daily assignments. “We are required to finish the project before Christmas. Although we are in a hurry, we are still confident that we’ll be able to meet the deadline,” explained the project’s director, Xiong, whose name has beene changed for this story in order to protect his identity.

Translation Tuesday: The Chinese in Africa long to “celebrate New Year like migratory birds”

By Zander Rounds

Author: Song Fangcan

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 2/24/15
Source: China News Service
Original text (in Chinese): http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2015/02-24/7075435.shtml

What is it like for the Chinese living and working in Africa? This article about China’s “migratory birds” – the people that return home from abroad every holiday season – provides some insight into what it is like being abroad during the holidays.
---- Zander Rounds (Translator) 

During a skit from the Year of the Goat Spring Festival Gala that took place on New Year’s Eve, a lonely father (Played by Pan Changjiang) morosely passes the time in an empty car. After a “serendipitous meeting” at a train station he receives a call from his son saying that he has already returned from Africa to celebrate the New Year. Viewers are moved as this previously unattainable dream of reunion becomes a happy reality. Although this is only an art piece, now returning to China has undeniably become a common practice for Africa’s Chinese people.

“The most remote distance in the world is when you are in China but I am in Africa.” Someone posted this sorrowful message. However, along with developments in communication technology and as transportation methods become more convenient and individual purchasing power increases, more and more overseas Chinese in Africa return to China (their ancestral home) to celebrate the New Year. This is no longer an unattainable dream. During this traditional festival more and more people embark on this homeward-bound, “migratory bird-like” journey to celebrate the holiday.

How to use Chinese social media to effectively engage Chinese people in elephant conservation

By Li Jiayu

“Hello, guys. Do you have Weibo and WeChat?” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder and CEO of Save The Elephants the first time he met us. It really surprised me to meet a foreigner so familiar with Chinese social media.

However, after communicating with the staff and many similar conservation groups, I have gradually discovered that, despite the strong interest, these organizations knew little about using Weibo and WeChat (the most popular Chinese social media platforms) effectively. “I don’t understand what our translated Weibo account name means,” Resson, the project officer of Save The Elephants, explained when I pointed out that Save The Elephant’s account name was too long and confusing for Chinese people to understand.

Advice for International Elephant Conservation Groups from a Chinese Youth

By Wu Yue

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's elephant orphanage/Wu Yue

At 8:20 pm on January 27, almost one month ago, I touched down in Kenya at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Before I got off the plane, I had already received a text message from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). At that time, I was bored waiting for my luggage, so instead of deleting the message as usual, I read it. They wanted me to have a safe and wonderful trip in Kenya and also gave me some advice, such as "do not go out alone at night". I promptly discarded that counsel. I was in Kenya to learn about elephant conservation and the ivory trade with China House, the first Chinese social enterprise in Africa focusing on studying and improving China-Africa engagement.

Translation Tuesday: Chinese enterprises aid the repair of a Kenya Country Road

By Joseph Webster

Author: Dengyao Min
Translator: Joseph Webster
Published on: 10/27/2014
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-10/28/c_1113001848.htm

China Road and Bridge Corporation is constructing a road in Kajiado County, Kenya. According to the article, 4,000 Kenyans have already been hired, and over 30,000 “local employees” will be employed in the project. It is unclear if there is a distinction between Kenyans and local employees. The article is reflective of the many stakeholders that Chinese investment in Africa must satisfy. Chinese investment must appear to benefit Africans – which it often does, of course – but it must also placate domestic audiences who may be concerned that State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are funneling capital abroad and reducing employment at home. The Xinhua article stresses the benefits to the local population. On the other hand, the article also notes that “except for the local government providing soil sources, building materials, equipment, and labor were provided by the Chinese side.” Domestic political constraints on foreign investment are hardly unique to China, of course. Free trade is not necessarily zero-sum, but both winners and losers emerge from it. Chinese investment in Africa must placate both African stakeholders as well as the Chinese domestic audience. 
--- Joseph Webster (Translator)

"Before, this road was rotten with potholes and driving was very difficult. Now the pavement is smooth, saving time and fuel. I am grateful to the road repair men," a Kenyan truck driver named Brown said. Brown is stationed in southeastern Kenya, in the Mashuru district of Kajiado County. China Road and Bridge Corporation is responsible for the renovation of this rural road. For Brown and residents along the road, this is their "livelihood road", but bad road conditions have led them to feel helpless.

Effective Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility (2/2)

Part two of our discussion with Kenny Dong, a Master's student of Environmental Management at Kyoto University who is studying the environmental impact of Chinese companies in East Africa, has him explain his research regarding the Chinese Communications Construction Company in Kenya. If you want to learn more about Chinese environmental standards in Kenya, how Chinese financing mechanisms work, and how to even do this sort of research, please listen!

Recommendations

• Kenny Dong
• Chinese Development Aid in Africa: What, Where, Why, and How Much? by Deborah Brautigam

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

Effective Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility (1/2)

So what does Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) look like in Africa? Host Winslow Robertson asked Kenny Dong, a Master's student of Environmental Management at Kyoto University who is studying the environmental impact of Chinese companies in East Africa, to share his research. If you want to know some concrete CSR projects being done by Chinese companies, listen to part one of this podcast.

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

Translation Tuesday: Tecno, the Chinese Cellphone Manufacturer That Only Does Business in Africa

By Laiyin Yuan

Author: Li Kunkun
Translator: Laiyin Yuan
Published on: 07/18/2014
Source: African Business Insider
Original text (in Chinese): http://www.abitimes.com/portal.php?mod=view&aid=139

This is a story about a “unique” Chinese cellphone manufacturer that is obscure in China, but not so low-profile in Africa. As popular as Samsung or Nokia are among African consumers, Chinese brand Tecno is equally popular and it represents the strength of Chinese companies in regards to localization, brand building, and distribution-channel expansion. How can a Chinese company only do business in Africa, and how was Tecno so successful? Maybe this report can provide some answers.
- Laiyin Yuan (translator)

Last month, one of my British friends, Emma, wanted to buy a cellphone in Lira, a town in northern Uganda, to replace the Nokia phone she brought with her from England. While we were chatting, she asked me about the brand Tecno: “I saw Tecno phones in many Lira stores, and I heard that it was a Chinese brand. You must have heard of it.” However, the truth is I have never came across this brand before coming to Africa. When I told her that Tecno phones are never actually sold in China, Emma was very surprised: “I thought Tecno was a popular brand in China!”

The Westgate Attack and China

Join your hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu  as they look at what the tragic September 21 Westgate attack in Nairobi meant for Chinese-Kenyan relations. Helping them is Mr. Bob Wekesa, a Kenyan PhD candidate (who just defended his proposal) at Communication University of China and visiting researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. An expert on domestic China-Africa media, we asked him to give his thoughts on how the attack was reported in China versus Kenya and what the affect was, if any, on the broader relationship.

PS The podcast gods did not allow a solid internet connection, so please excuse the poor quality of the recording!

Recommendations

• Winslow
• Rhino horn trade thrives in Jo'burg by Hongxiang Huang
• Dr. Kalu
• The vulnerable other – distorted equity in Chinese–Ghanaian employment relations by Karsten Giese, Alena Thiel

Sources

China media: Kenya siege by BBC News China

Kenya is looking East, but not for comfort by Kenfrey Kiberenge
Tackling security concerns in Nairobi by Ding Zhitao

Brought to you by:

African Development Jobs

Mighty Mike

The Africa Daily

SADC: Tomorrow: U.S. Competitiveness in Africa w/ Members of Congress

On Tuesday there will be a ton of interesting events, I hope to see you at some of them!

Dear Colleagues, I hope you all had a Happy Father's Day! I sure did, as I participated in Andy's Google+ Hangout, along with Jemila, which was was quite successful! Here is the edited video and summary (we ran into some technical errors), and while we could not get the original panel of guests, Shuang and Andy found a wonderful substitute in Hongxiang Huang. I thought it went really well, though my wife pointed out some of the ways I could have improved my performance (I said "umm" way too much, sadly... next time I will do better, honey!). This week there should be a lot of interesting events going on in the DC area, I hope to meet some of you on Tuesday for the  congressional discussion about US competitiveness in Africa as well as the remarks by the Honorable Raila A. Odinga, who will talk about Sino-African relations and Africa as a whole. Jemila, along with Blogging Ghana, is putting together her own Hangout on Thursday, June 20. The panelists are still being worked out, but there are going to be a lot of them and a few of our members should be participating. And, in the same vein of Andy's Hangout, the participants will all be Chinese or African except for myself (I somehow keep representing the United States in all of these events...). Be sure to check it out! If you have a bit of free time on your hands, I urge you to read through the latestSouth Africa Foreign Policy Initiative Digest, which can be found here. While mostly focused on BRICS issues, there are a number of pieces that are of interest to Sino-Africa watchers, (Thank you Prof. Park) Since no one responded to the potluck idea, it has been dropped. Enjoy the weather! Area Events U.S. Competitiveness in Africa – Leveling the Playing Field (Thank you Maame) By: The Office of Ranking Member Karen Bass, House Africa Subcommittee Date and Time: Tuesday, June 18, 08:00 AM - 10:00 AM Location: The Member’s Room, Thomas Jefferson Building Library of Congress Reaching Across the Pacific: Latin America and Asia in the New Century By: Woodrow Wilson Center Date and Time: Tuesday, June 18, 8:45 AM - 1:00 PM Location: 5th Floor Woodrow Wilson Center A Briefing by The Honorable Raila A. Odinga: African Achievements and Challenges: Learning from the Past but Looking Forward By: Woodrow Wilson Center Date and Time: Tuesday, June 18, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM Location: 5th Floor Woodrow Wilson Center Amadou and Mariam (Thank you Edward) By: 9:30 Club Date and Time: Tuesday, June 20, 7:00 PM Location: 9:30 Club 815 V St NW Women as Agents of Change: Traditional Practices and Community-Based Social Change in Ethiopia By: Woodrow Wilson Center Date and Time: Thursday, June 20, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Location: 6th Floor Woodrow Wilson Center Cheick Hamala Diabate (Thank you Edward) By: Kennedy Center Date and Time: Thursday, June 20, 6:00 PM Location: Kennedy Center - Millenium Stage 2700 F St NW Emmanuel Jal (Thank you Edward) By: Kennedy Center Date and Time: Saturday, June 22, 6:00 PM Location: Kennedy Center - Millenium Stage 2700 F St NW Miss Africa USA Pageant (Thank you Edward) By: Miss Africa USA Pageant 2013 Date and Time: Saturday, June 29, 07:00 PM Location: The Fillmore Silver Spring 8656 Colesville Rd  Silver Spring, MD 20910 Conferences Asian Studies Association of Australia International Convention of Asia Scholars 8 Oxford University China Africa Network & Alpha Professional Network Emerging Powers in Africa Forum Calls for Papers Call for Papers - International Journal of Human Rights Special Issue: Corporate Power & Human Rights (Thank you Prof. Park) Call for Papers - Verge: Studies in Global Asias (Thank you Prof. Park) Call for Papers: State Policy and the Cultural Politics of Heritage-Making in East and Southeast Asia -  International Institute for Asian Studies (Thank you Prof. Park)  Call for Papers and Panels - Asian Studies Association of Australia (Thank you Prof. Park) Call for Proposals: China, UK, Low-Income Countries and Agriculture/Food Security - AgriTT (Thank you Prof. Brautigam) Call for Submissions - Politique Africaine (Thank you Prof. Park) Opportunities (courtesy of Nina) Communication Advisor for Tanzania and Burundi - ActionAid Communication Advisor for Nigeria and Liberia - ActionAid Communications Coordinator for Africa - Center for International Forestry Research Convening Officer - Civicus Finance Analyst - International Finance Corporation Financial Consultant - Saferworld Grants Manager - International Organization for Migration IT Support Officer - Camfed Logistics Coordinator - QED Group Phandulwazi nge China Scholarship Programme for visiting scholars from Africa  - Stellenbosch University Centre for Chinese Studies Photographer - Adeso Product Manager - Grameen Foundation Project Coordinator - Invisible Children Program Manager, Education Programs - IREX Programme Funding Manager, Sahel - Christian Aid Program Officer - Freedom House Project Officer - Adeso Senior Fellow/Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative - Brookings Technical Project Manager - Grameen Foundation Of Interest Africa: The China-Africa Convergence: Can America Catch Up? - A balanced, nuanced look at how American involvement in Africa is trailing that of the Chinese, why it matters, and what must be done about it. Howard French is also awesome, so always read his stuff. Anonymous ‘Baba Jukwa’ Facebook Dishes Dirt on Zimbabwe Politics  - Baba Jukwa, an anonymous Facebook poster writing about Zimbabwe politics from an insider's perspective, tells one story (out of many) about a Chinese contractor whose project was built  to support the Zimbabwe government rather than its people. It is not the fault of the Chinese though, they are just doing their job and the author's ire is directed towards the Zim government Chinese investors look to broaden their African portfolios - If one can get over the "China is the best" tone of the article, there are some really great quotes and anecdotes to be found. From Gold Mine to Land Mine – The Chinese in Ghana - This fantastic essay gathers social media sources and scholarly monographs and articles to talk about the situation in Ghana, and locates the tension within the context of different labor cultures. The story about Chinese racism and their handling of Ghanaian maids is quite chilling. Leave Chinese alone - Prostitutes cry out - “'The galamsey [small-scale miners] operators don’t even ask for reduction for our services; they accept whatever prices we give them,' Victoria said. 'The Chinese galamseyers pay well unlike the ordinary Ghanaian who would ask for reduction,' she added." Who says the Chinese do not create jobs in Africa? Lifan sees Africa as doorway to world - This interview with Yin Minshan, President of the automaker Chongqing Lifan group, talks about his companies plans to expand in Africa. A few of my buddies in China had Lifan motorcycles but I do not really know the company. Over there: China ponders sending more combat troops on UN peacekeeping missions - A fascinating analysis of what China has to think about as it sends over 500 troops to Mali, some which might be actual soldiers rather than the usual engineers, medical workers, or transport staff. SA is riding the Chinese dragon into a tempest - A look at how China's economic growth and contractions affect the South African economy. I am not sure the housing market situation in China is as dire as the author contends, though. As someone who predicted a Chinese housing crash back in 2009 for 2012-2013 (and planned to buy property in that crash), I learned to NEVER make predictions about the Chinese housing market, because you will always be wrong. Save elephants from Chinese ivory trade or we lose them, says researcher - This piece joins the growing chorus of people who track the ivory poaching issue as saying China should do more about it. Soft Power? China Has Plenty - An interesting overview of Chinese soft-power in Africa through the lens of aid and education, citing both Prof. Brautigam and Prof. Kenneth King. I think that the author oversells the point, and I could have done without the $74 billion aid figure cited, but worth a read regardless. Taskforce dared to arrest chiefs benefiting from illegal mining - While much of the focus over last week's row over Chinese mining in Africa was directed at illegal Chinese miners, this piece talks about some of the actors who facilitated their actions: local chiefs. Member Contributions Hansen, Peter C., "Increasing U.S. Exports to Africa: Why U.S. Investment Is First Necessary" House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Hansen, Peter C., "Subcommittee Hearing: Increasing American Jobs through Greater Exports to Africa" House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Liu, Andy Shuai, "China Open Mic Hangout: Chinese Miners in Ghana - Does It Matter which Cat Catches the Mice?" China Open Mic Liu, Andy Shuai, "Open Note: Transparency and Open Engagement Help Both Africa and China" China Open Mic Shinn, David, "China Establishing Two New Investment Funds for Africa" The official blog of Amb. David H. Shinn

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