CWP alum Yuan Wang on podcast about 'China’s Development Model in Africa'

Duke Kunshan’s Yuan Wang shares with the U.S.-China Nexus how a one-way ticket to Kenya set her on a path of studying the varying outcomes of Chinese-backed projects on the African continent. Macro views of China’s growing presence tend to be positive, but on a more granular level, they tend to be contingent on how the lives of locals are ultimately affected by projects, be it a new road or a railway. While there are often mixed experiences, increasingly local communities are voicing concerns about social and environmental impacts, labor, transparency, and community engagement. Moreover, in the coming years, Wang is keeping an eye on how different African countries exercise their agency in their dealings with Chinese development projects.   

March 15, 2023 ' An Evolution in China’s Development Model in Africa?'

Podcast Series: U.S.-China Nexus Podcast

I am Assistant Professor of International Relations at Duke Kunshan University starting from July 2022. My teaching and research interests include global China, African politics, and comparative political economy of development.

My research covers African state effectiveness and China’s economic and political engagement with Africa. My book project (under contract with Oxford University Press) investigates why Chinese-financed and -constructed develop into starkly different trajectories in different African countries. I used process tracing based on extensive fieldwork in Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, and China. I also have ongoing collaborative projects in Cambodia.

Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com/users/ninastock-2423890/