Understanding the Chinese viewpoint: a study of Chinese migrants in Mozambique and South Africa and their perception of local black Africans

Clarke-Sather, AftonChina’s influence in Africa, and its economic relationship with states throughout the African continent, has been analyzed and criticized by many scholars. However, the role migration plays in the relationship between China and Africa remains a relatively unexamined topic in comparison to economic relationships. Furthermore, while several scholars have studied the relationship between African locals and Chinese migrants from the African perspective, the Chinese immigrant’s perspective of Africans has not been discussed at length. This project seeks to better understand how Chinese immigrants who migrate to South Africa and Mozambique perceive black Africans. It is grounded on 29 interviews conducted in Durban, South Africa and Maputo, Mozambique with Chinese immigrants. Interviewees included hospitality workers, construction workers and supervisors, and local shop owners. The interviews gave light to the various levels of prejudicial and negative attitudes Chinese immigrants possess about local black Africans, and the role Confucian thought plays in developing those viewpoints. Furthermore, this project delves deeper into discovering the construct of race from a Chinese lens and how that view impacts China’s growing relationship with African states.University of Delaware, Department of GeographyM.A