Thousands of Chinese migrants who settled in Africa over the past 10 years now face mounting uncertainty as economic growth slows across the continent and back home in China. While there are no reliable estimates as to how many Chinese migrants there are in Africa, experts believe the population to be somewhere between one and two million people.
The Chinese expatriate and immigrant communities in Africa are extremely diverse, and for a certain slice of that community the new, grim economic realities pose real challenges. Many are either too poor or too financially invested in Africa to go anywhere else.
Dr. Yoon Jung Park is one of the world’s leading experts on Chinese migration in Africa. Dr. Park is an adjunct associate professor in the African Studies department at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She joins Eric and Cobus to discuss what impact the slowing global economy will have on China’s migrant population in Africa.
Recommendations
- “10 Questions About Migration Between China and Africa,” Li Anshan, University of Nottingham China Policy Institute Blog, March 4, 2015
- “Can Chinese Migrants Integrate in Africa?,” Karen Allen, BBC News, December 4, 2015