Hungry Goliath or Indifferent Savior: Public Opinion of Chinese Investments in Africa and Extractive Sectors

Abstract

Much has been written on the expansion of Chinese presence on the African continent. However most of the literature has been focused on trade between the two regions, despite the rapid growth of investment. Additionally, while the economic effects of increased entanglement have been explored, very little has been dedicated to understanding what African locals think about the new influx of investments and how this has shaped their perception of China overall. This thesis aims to examine what explains the differences in public opinion in Africa of China, and specifically, what is the role of extractive industries in that public opinion. While Chinese investments have been caricatured by the Western media as predatory, they have also brought massive upstream and downstream employment depending on the sector. How do the locals reconcile the pros and cons of such investments? To that end, the thesis first combines and regresses on the most recent public opinion data from the Afrobarometer and sectoral investment data from the AEI Global Investment Tracker. The results find some but weak support for worse public opinions in countries with dominant Chinese investment in extractive sectors. Overall, respondents have a positive opinion of China. To explain why people might hold these views, the second half of the thesis engages in a case study of South Africa, drawing upon interviews from my field work. In this specific case, the material benefits of employment seem to be the most compelling reason for people’s positive, albeit still cautious, view of China. The results are critical for forming better investment and cultural exchange policies between China and Africa.