Iron Sharpens Iron

Social Interactions at China Shops in Botswana

by Yanyin Zi

For centuries the continent of Africa has been characterised by
negative images such as poverty, disease and conflicts. Today, however,
the People’s Republic of China’s growing presence in Africa,
particularly with regards to China–Africa business relations, brings new
vitality to the continent. This new movement is not a windfall but
rather obtained through the hard work of both African and Chinese people
at various levels. Narrating on daily experiences of Chinese merchants
and their vivid interactions with people in Botswana, this book decodes
the frustrating while rewarding process through which China–Africa
relations have been maturing on the grass-roots level. This book not
only presents insights and suggestions to both Botswana and Chinese
policy makers interested in understanding their constituents’ everyday
interactions with each other, but also offers readers interested more
broadly in contemporary Chinese experiences in Africa a fascinating
glimpse into these cross-cultural encounters. This book is an original
and pioneering study of issues that resonate in almost every African
country which has responded to a growing Chinese presence. It argues
that as the process of globalisation permeates the everyday lives of
people, each individual is empowered to be an ‘ambassador’ in shaping
international relations.

£36.00

About the author

Yanyin Zi

Yanyin Zi is a researcher in the Center for African Studies at Kyoto University, Japan.

Review

“The book presents valuable findings that are grounded in empirical
detail and integrated with comparative examples from other African
countries, as well as the wider literature on migration and
globalisation from below. It clearly presents the nature of small
Chinese businesses in Botswana and adds to our understanding of key
issues in the discourse on Chinese retailers in Africa. It is an
important contribution to the rapidly expanding literature on China’s
contemporary engagement with Africa.”

Frank Youngman, former Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Botswana and Senior Resident Researcher in the African Studies Centre, Shanghai Normal University.

“Yanyin Zi’s pioneer study of the sociality of China Shops in Botswana
highlights the social science imperative of Africa–China relations. I
hope it will generate a proliferation of collaborative research
initiatives by African and Chinese social scientists. The importance of
complex, rigorous, critical and comparative policy-relevant studies, by
African and Chinese scholars working collaboratively, of how China
shapes and is shaped by Africa cannot be over-emphasised.”

Francis B. Nyamnjoh, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

“Yanyin Zi takes readers to new signal lights at the intersection of
Chinese merchants with people in Botswana. Read this book and you will
obtain a better understanding of China–Africa relations!”

Shengyong Qin, Associate Professor, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Town

“Spreading all over Africa, China shops not only shape China’s image in
Africa on a grass-roots level, but also have a multidimensional impact
on China–Africa relations. From an anthropologist’s perspective, the
author uses ‘contact zone’ theory to analyse social interaction between
Chinese and local people in the ‘China shop’ context. The book allows us
to gain an insight of Chinese merchants’ life in Africa, and also the
China–Africa relations on an everyday level. The ethnographic study
deconstructs the grand narrative of China–Africa relations and provides
depth on the widely discussed international issue.”

Xu Wei, Associate Professor, Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China