Everything you need to know about FOCAC: Security

Note: This episode was recorded live over lunch, and has considerable ambient noise which we were unable to remove.

We are continuing to discuss the Sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) for the rest of the month. FOCAC will be held in three weeks, December 4-5 in Johannesburg, South Africa. For historical context, FOCAC was initiated in 2000 in Beijing in order to sketch out a three-year cooperation plan between China and the countries of Africa. Since then, the triennial meetings have alternated between China and an African country. This week, hosts Winslow Robertson and Ms. Lina Benabdallah examine China-Africa security issues with Amb. David Shinn, who was U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, and co authored China and Africa: A Century of Engagement with Prof. Joshua Eisenman, which was published in 2012 by the University of Pennsylvania Press. In addition, he recently published a non-China-Africa book: Hizmet in Africa: The Activities and Significance of the Gulen Movement.

Recommendations

• Winslow and Lina
• Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
• Amb. David Shinn
• Exercise more African agency

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Mighty Mike

Translation Tuesday: Great love engraved on a blue helmet: Peace-keeping Hero Jiang Hangang

By Zander Rounds

Author: Feng Chunmei
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 12/3/10
Source: China Daily
Original text (in Chinese): http://military.people.com.cn/GB/1076/84133/13385548.html

Jiang Hangang (third from left) with leadership team
members inspecting equipment (Zhu Min, Xinhua) 

In a country of peace and prosperity, why does the hero embark on journeys? To uphold peace.

On April 18, 2008, Jiang Hangang, Party Secretary, Military Engineer Platoon Captain of China’s seventh dispatch of peacekeepers to Liberia, and Regiment commander of Beijing Collective Military Engineering Corps, was in charge of 274 soldiers preparing to set off.

Translation Tuesday: Op-Ed: Don’t Forget Africa in Anti-Terrorism

By Laiyin Yuan

Author: Chen Junxia
Translator: Laiyin Yuan
Published on: 01/14/2015
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-01/14/c_1113996130.htm

This op-ed points out the potential negative outcome of imbalanced media coverage regarding Africa’s anti-terrorism, but it seems to blame only developed countries without interrogating the responsibilities of other stakeholders.
---- Laiyin Yuan (Translator)

In the beginning of the New Year, the terrorist attacks in Paris, France caught major attention from Western media, which not only allowed the world to sympathize and ruminate on this tragedy, but also left an extraordinary impression of the reporting capabilities of Western media.

Addendum - 130 Years of China/South Sudan history

While Dr. Daniel Large gave an excellent overview of Chinese/South Sudanese history, there was not as much of a discussion on South Sudan's relations with neighboring countries (China is not a neighbor, after all). Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu asked Ms. Lesley Anne Warner, an Africa security specialist, to talk a little more about the particulars of South Sudanese politics and how they relate to its foreign policy, to which she graciously agreed. Despite their best efforts, there were still technical difficulties in the recording, however: a slight scratching sound every time Winslow speaks. But you do not listen to this podcast for what Winslow has to say, correct?

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Mighty Mike

The Africa Daily

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