Category: Africa

Africa, Asia, Business and economics, Labor

The Kenya Construction Industry Trade Union: A Friend for African Workers, a “Stranger” for Chinese Companies

“Trade unions always incite workers to make trouble, and ask us for more money. They really cause me a headache.” That is the commonly held perception of trade unions by project managers of Chinese construction companies in Kenya. According to the Kenya Labor Relations Act, a trade union is an association of employees whose principal goal is to regulate relations between employees and employers. Employees … Continue reading The Kenya Construction Industry Trade Union: A Friend for African Workers, a “Stranger” for Chinese Companies

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Africa, China, Labor, Society and culture

Behind the SGR Racism Scandal: The Challenge of Communication Between Chinese and Kenyans

In the last several decades, Chinese investment, trade, and aid in Kenya have considerably increased. Under China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has been regarded as one of the most remarkable achievements of cooperation between China and Kenya, creating approximately 25,000 job positions for Kenyan locals. Nevertheless, conflicts have emerged out of this cooperation. On July 8, 2018, The Standard, … Continue reading Behind the SGR Racism Scandal: The Challenge of Communication Between Chinese and Kenyans

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Africa, Business and economics, China, Labor, Technology

Africa-based Chinese Tech Companies vs Chinese Construction Companies: A Dispatch on Labor Relations

Under the impact of the reform and opening-up policy in China during the 1980s, more and more Chinese companies started to seek business opportunities in various African countries. According to the data provided by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the bilateral trade in 1999 between China and African Countries was 7 times more than that in 1979. However, the major players in the mid-1990’s were … Continue reading Africa-based Chinese Tech Companies vs Chinese Construction Companies: A Dispatch on Labor Relations

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Africa, Business and economics, China

Exporting Handicrafts and Artwork to China? Another “Made in Africa” Wish

“I have nothing unhappy with the Chinese government and big corporations; they help us build a lot of things, like infrastructures. We Kenyans have bought a lot of stuff made in China, such as cell phones, but Chinese people here buy little. It’s not fair,” said John, a guide at Kazuri, an organization providing employment for disadvantaged groups within Kenyan society through the production of … Continue reading Exporting Handicrafts and Artwork to China? Another “Made in Africa” Wish

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Africa, Business and economics, China, Politics, Society and culture

Zimbabwe’s Chinese Community: Challenges and Opportunities

Zimbabwe, a country that is endowed with abundant mineral resources, has been a recipient of huge Chinese investment. There are approximately 6,000 Chinese who work and live in Zimbabwe, with the majority engaged in trade-related industries, such as extractive, manufacturing and retail industries. In 2008, Zimbabwe suddenly became famous for its catastrophic hyperinflation. Nearly a decade afterward, in December 2017, former president Robert Mugabe was … Continue reading Zimbabwe’s Chinese Community: Challenges and Opportunities

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