FOCAC 8 Preview: The Economic Agenda

The China Africa Project

This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) conference will take place amid considerable uncertainty in the global economy and profound economic changes underway in China. As such, it's widely expected that the outputs from the upcoming forum will be very different from previous FOCACs. Gone will be the large mega-loans to build massive infrastructure projects across the continent and instead, observers expect a series of smaller, more targeted initiatives centered on new priorities in digital, health, and green energy development. Many of those forecasts of what to expect in Dakar were outlined in a recent collection of articles published by the LSE IDEAS China Foresight team at the London School of Economics "FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations." Stephen Paduano, executive director of the LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission, and Mzukisi Qobo, head of the Wits School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, both contributed to the LSE report and join Eric & Cobus to discuss the key economic issues that will frame this year's FOCAC conference. SHOW NOTES: LSE IDEAS China Foresight: FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations: https://bit.ly/3m04jg2 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN: The Political Economy of China-US Relations - Digital Futures and African Agency by Mzukisi Qobo: https://bit.ly/3p0uPGz JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque |@stephenpaduano JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject