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China has cultivated relationships in Africa at various points in history, from the 15th-century voyages of Zheng He to the days of socialist solidarity under Chairman Mao. Only in the past decade, however, has China flooded the continent with billions of dollars in loans and investments, extracting resources for its hungry economy and putting its excess capacity to work building vital infrastructure.
This is, China says, a “win-win” relationship. But in countries like Namibia, that relationship is fraying. Join journalist Brook Larmer in conversation about China’s deep involvement in Namibia—and the growing tensions that are forcing both sides to rethink the next stage of China-Africa relations.Brook Larmer is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, and the Economist’s 1843 Magazine. He is the author of the book Operation Yao Ming and a former bureau chief for Newsweek magazine in Buenos Aires, Miami, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. He recently spent two and one-half weeks in Namibia preparing a story on China in Namibia, which ran in the May 2, 2017 issue of New York Times Magazine.
This event continues our occasional Current Conversations series, which began in April with “China’s Demographic Puzzle.” In a moderated discussion format, each conversation explores a topic that’s both current for China and intellectually relevant for the RAS community.
