Closing the gap between Africa and China
The Monash Africa Centre at MSA
Chinese involvement in African economic development, especially aspects such as investment of capital and migration of people, will be put under the microscope at an upcoming conference.
The international ‘Chinese in Africa and Africans in China’ conference and public seminar will bring experts in Chinese and African disciplines to the Monash Africa Centre at Monash South Africa (MSA) next month for an in-depth discussion of China and Africa’s relationship.
Conference initiator, Emeritus Professor John Nieuwenhuysen, who has just completed a term as director of Monash University’s Prato Centre in Italy, said the investment of African capital and counter-migration of people to China would also be examined.
“The conference will serve to create a focal point for MSA through its Africa Centre in attracting international scholars from several continents to join the deliberations and presentations at the campus,” Professor Nieuwenhuysen said.
The relationship between Africa and China will be discussed as something of great importance to the wider international economy.
“The Chinese demand for mineral supplies and Africa’s rich resources, on which its economic prosperity often largely depends, creates a strong and growing need for trade links,” Professor Nieuwenhuysen said.
“Other sensitive issues, such as the way China brings in their own labour for projects in Africa, also excite particular interest and tension and will be examined.”
Conference convenor Dr Yoon Jung Park from Rhodes and Howard universities is one of the many respected academics taking part in this event.
“Professor Park is largely responsible for conceiving and organising the academic side of the conference. She will present her ground-breaking research on African perceptions of Chinese,” Professor Nieuwenhuysen said.
The conference gives MSA students and staff the opportunity to meet and interact with international and local scholars.
“There is a W.H. Auden poem which goes ‘Till Africa and China meet, and the river jumps over the mountain, and the salmon sing in the street’. That was the perception of yesterday; the two places were immeasurably distant,” Professor Nieuwenhuysen said.
“But that is not today’s world. China and Africa are meeting, and Monash University has campuses in both, so a conference at MSA is most appropriate especially since a refereed publication outcome is envisaged.”
Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Monash South Africa, Professor Dina Burger, said the conference was the most important event in the Monash Africa Centre's 2012 Calender.
The ‘Chinese in Africa and Africans in China’ conference and public seminar will be held from 21-23 August 2012 at Monash South Africa, and feature experts in Chinese and African relations from around the world.
For more information contact Shana Stewart, Monash Media & Communications on +61 3 9903 4815 or Shana.Stewart@monash.edu.