We’re excited to share the latest post from ICI friend and scholar Tansen Sen in the Times of India. In this post, Professor Sen discusses the role of China in Africa, scholarly efforts to look at Africa and Asia together, and the challenges and opportunities for both China and India in their engagement with African countries.
Here is a brief excerpt from his piece:
India is, compared to China, a latecomer to the geo-politics of the African continent. This is despite the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru had, even prior to Indian independence, launched several initiatives promoting Afro-Asian unity in the then decolonizing world. The cultural affinity that Nehru sought, however, made little headway as the African states became pawns in Cold War politics. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) also became engrossed in Cold War geo-politics as it competed with Taiwan for official recognition by African states. The political and subsequently economic inducements offered since then have led to the PRC winning over all but three African nations, Burkina Faso, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Swaziland. Mainland China is now the most powerful, admired, and, at the same time, one of the more despised foreign entities on the African continent.
You can read the entire article here.