Note: This episode was recorded last year and is missing some content. It has been uploaded as the podcast is relaunching. Clean cookstoves are cooking instruments designed to save fuel, improve health, empower women, and protect the environment. They are rarely mentioned in the same breath as China-Africa relations, but in this episode, host Winslow Robertson has two clean cookstove experts connect the two topics. Jichong Wu, China Program Manager at the United Nations Foundation and Yiting Wan...
Oct 21, 2015•35 min
Note: This episode was recorded last year and is missing some content. It has been uploaded as the podcast is relaunching. No discussion of China-Zambia relations would be complete without examining the TAZARA railway, the Chinese foreign aid project designed to eliminate landlocked Zambia's economic dependence on Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. Host Winslow Robertson asks Prof. Jamie Monson, Director of the Michigan State University's (famed) African Studies Center. Prof. Monson is au...
Oct 19, 2015•35 min
Aly-Khan Satchu, CEO of Rich Management (http://rich.co.ke), interviews Howard French, author of "China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa", to discuss Chinese migration in Africa and Africa-China affairs broadly. This is a shortened version of the original interview from 2014, which we have been granted permission to post on this podcast. The original interview can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgNOkyZXD0Q.
Aug 31, 2015•21 min
What did Michael Sata, the recently passed President of Zambia, mean to Zambians who had worked and lived in China, or even married Chinese people? Host Winslow Robertson asks returning guest Kumbukilani Phiri, who worked for a Chinese green energy company in Zambia, Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group and speaks fluent Mandarin after studying Civil Engineering in Guangxi university. He is uniquely situated to talk about the Zambia-China relationship, and we are delighted to having him on the pod ag...
Dec 01, 2014•46 min
We continue our discussion on China-Zambia relations following the death of President Michael Sata, and host Winslow Robertson wanted to look at what Sata meant to Zambian voters. He asked Mr. Kennedy Gondwe, a freelance journalist based in Lusaka who is an expert on Zambian politics and returning guest Solange Guo Chatelard, an associate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale, Germany. If you wanted to know about domestic Zambian politics, this is the episode for you...
Nov 30, 2014•43 min
What does the unfortunate death of President Michael Sata, who passed away on Wednesday October 29 due to an undisclosed illness, mean for the China-Zambia relationship? Host Winslow Robertson asked Ms. Hannah Postel on the pod to help enlighten him. Ms. Postel, a graduate of Middlebury College who specializes in economic development, migration, and overseas Chinese communities, just returned to D.C. from her time as 2013-2014 Fulbright Scholar in Zambia and wants to share her reflections of Pre...
Nov 12, 2014•34 min
The Africa-China relationship is pretty smooth when you have the Export-Import Bank of China or the China Development Bank throwing billions of dollars in your direction. However, not everyone involved in the relationship is so lucky. In this episode, host Winslow Robertson speaks to an individual Chinese entrepreneur, Liang Zhang, who is a travel consultant, bringing small Chinese tour groups to Morocco to experience the country and its culture. We discuss how he got started, why he chose Moroc...
Nov 04, 2014•31 min
There are a variety of media outlets interested in the Africa-China relationship, and in this episode host Winslow Robertson wanted to discuss how these outlets look at the relationship. James Schneider was the Editor-in-Chief of Think Africa Press and is currently the Editorial Director at New African Magazine. He read Theology at the University of Oxford and has a particular interest in the study of political economy, capital flows, and equitable development. Sam Piranty is a producer with the...
Nov 01, 2014•44 min
Former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa was recently at Zhejiang Normal University’s Institute of African Studies and the China-Africa Business College. He delivered a lecture, titled “Unscrambling Africa in the New Millennium,” that was attended by an American Fullbright scholar Zander Rounds. Rounds wrote about that speech on his blog "Bridging the Great Wall: A research blog on African students in China" and we found his analysis fascinating and asked him to share his experiences.
Oct 31, 2014•39 min
The Dalai Lama was recently supposed to visit the 14th World Peace Summit, to be held in South Africa, yet his visa to the country was, for all practical purposes, denied. Dr. Ross Anthony looked at the issue on the Center for Chinese Studies' Commentary: "China, South Africa and the Dalai Lama: costs and benefits" and host Winslow Robertson invited him on the pod to discuss the Dalai Lama's relationship with South Africa in-depth. If you want to learn more about the Dalai Lama Debacle, which Th...
Oct 07, 2014•43 min
China has a little-known program equivalent to the U.S. Peace Corps: the unofficially titled Chinese Youth Volunteers in Africa. Wendy Wang, a Business Development and Communications Officer with China House, explained this program to host Winslow Robertson. If you want to know about this program, how it is administered, how the volunteers are recruited, how it is funded, and more, please listen to this episode!
Sep 29, 2014•38 min
On September 18, 2014, AfricanDevJobs(africandevjobs.com) and Cowries and Rice (cowriesrice.blogspot.com) co-hosted the panel: "China & Development in Africa: What China's engagement with Africa means for the development sector & professionals". This moderated panel discussion explored how China’s engagement in Africa affects growth and development in Africa and what that means for African development professionals. This event brought together China-Africa practitioners and voices in dev...
Sep 22, 2014•1 hr 34 min
Host Winslow Robertson continues his discussion with Ms. Marina Rudyak and Mr. Christian Straube on the Chinese white paper on foreign aid, released on July 10 of this. If you want to find out if Hu Jintao might be purged soon based on a VERY close reading of this document, or if you want to know more about the often opaque world of Chinese aid, this episode is for you!
Sep 22, 2014•21 min
The latest Chinese white paper on foreign aid was released on July 10. Looking at Chinese foreign assistance from 2010 to 2012, the paper reveals that China has given a cumulative total of $14.4 billion, half of which went to Africa. To get some more context on the white paper itself as well as the rhetoric behind the white paper, host Winslow Robertson asked Ms. Marina Rudyak and Mr. Christian Straube to come on the pod. Ms. Rudyak holds an M.A. in Modern and Classical Chinese Studies and Publi...
Sep 15, 2014•24 min
Part two of our discussion with Kenny Dong, a Master's student of Environmental Management at Kyoto University who is studying the environmental impact of Chinese companies in East Africa, has him explain his research regarding the Chinese Communications Construction Company in Kenya. If you want to learn more about Chinese environmental standards in Kenya, how Chinese financing mechanisms work, and how to even do this sort of research, please listen!
Sep 14, 2014•18 min
If you are listening to this podcast, you are no doubt well-acquainted with the research of Prof. Deborah Brautigam, having read "The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa" or her wonderful blog "China in Africa: The Real Story." However, did you know that Prof. Brautigam has started a new, exciting Sino-Africa research initiative? On today's episode, host Winslow Robertson asks Prof. Brautigam about the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) China Af...
Jul 08, 2014•14 min
Host Winslow Robertson continues his discussion of the excellent "China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa" with its author, Prof. Howard W. French. French is associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he teaches reporting, writing, and a spring seminar each year on contemporary China. In this episode, they discuss criticisms of the book as well as how French managed to interview so many diverse peoples.
Jul 01, 2014•24 min
The excellent "China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa" was just released to rave reviews last month. This phenomenal Africa-China book looks at China's engagement with Africa through the prism of Chinese immigration to the continent. In order to further explore some of these themes, host Winslow Robertson (Dr, Nkemjika Kalu is sadly indisposed) discusses the book with its author, Prof. Howard W. French. French is associate professor at the Columbia U...
Jun 25, 2014•35 min
Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu continue their conversation with Jenni Marsh, who just wrote a brilliant article at South China Morning Post's Post Magazine: "Afro-Chinese marriages boom in Guangzhou: but will it be 'til death do us part'?" We ask about what struck her most about the relationships encountered, what will these relationships mean for China's conception of race, and more.
Jun 13, 2014•24 min
As more Africans set up shop in Guangzhou, there has been a corresponding increase in Afro-Chinese marriages. Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu talked to Jenni Marsh, who just wrote a brilliant article at South China Morning Post's Post Magazine on that very topic: "Afro-Chinese marriages boom in Guangzhou: but will it be 'til death do us part'?" Marsh is Assistant Editor of Post Magazine at South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. She is currently researching the African diaspora in G...
Jun 10, 2014•19 min
ALERT: This is a Mandarin-language episode! Host Andy Shuai Liu of China Open Mic spoke with China Going Out's Hongxiang Huang (who was a Cowries and Rice guest back in October of 2013) to talk about his newest project: China House. China House looks to help open-minded Chinese citizens integrate better with African societies and promote a more mutually beneficial Sino-African relationship. If you were curious as to what effective Chinese non-governmental organizations or corporate social respon...
Jun 03, 2014•22 min
ALERT: This is a Mandarin-language episode! Jess Wilhelm, Senior Research Associate at Social & Scientific Systems, delivered a lecture on Chinese migrants in Lesotho based on his experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer there. He spoke on April 17, 2014 at China Garden for the Mandarin Speakers Society. Carlos Da Rosa provided the introduction. We recorded the lecture, and Mr. Wilhelm was generous in offering to translate it, and his translation can be found at http://cowriesrice.blogspot.com...
Jun 03, 2014•1 hr 17 min
Continuing from the previous discussion about China's involvement in African green energy, hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu ask PhD students Alexander Demissie and Moritz Weigel of ChinaAfricaBlog to delve further into their research. They talk about what has been most surprising, what they hope people will take away from the discussion, and more. This is part two of the two-part episode!
Jun 03, 2014•32 min
China is quite involved in African power infrastructure, but what about renewable energy? Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu asked the good people at ChinaAfricaBlog, PhD students Alexander Demissie and Moritz Weigel, to discuss their latest research on the topic and give context as to what is China doing in terms of promoting green energy and technology. This is part one of a two-part episode! PS We made a mistake in our discussion about Chinese 5-year-plans that I could not smoothly...
Jun 03, 2014•35 min
You specialized in China-African relations, so where is that dynamic, high-powered job that you were expecting? Isn't everyone interested in Sino-Africa relations and willing to pay for that expertise? Not quite. Hosts Dr. Nkemjika Kalu and Winslow Robertson asked the most successful China-Africanist they know of (read: not an academic), Dr. Lucy Corkin, Class of Programme at Rand Merchant Bank, to come on the show and give some career advice. You may know Dr. Corkin from her many publications, ...
May 22, 2014•32 min
Closing out the month, we have Hangwei Li, a researcher and media trainer from Mediane, Council of Europe (and also contributor to podcast sponsor The Africa Daily) give us her thoughts on the month's topic and what we could do to improve the podcast. Listen as an Asian woman critiques the show!
Apr 19, 2014•42 min
ALERT: This is a Mandarin-language episode! We are in the middle of getting it transcribed and translated, but for the moment rest assured that it is amazing! We have had a number of wonderful guests already, but we wanted to bring more voices from China to the discussion and talk with them in Mandarin. Hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu had Hangwei Li, a researcher and media trainer from Mediane, Council of Europe (and also contributor to podcast sponsor The Africa Daily) interview t...
Apr 03, 2014•45 min
Continuing the celebration of International Women's Day, hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu explore what it means to be an Asian women in an African country. This week, we have one guest share her experience as a Chinese development worker for a French non-governmental organization: Ms. Lin Yiran, program manager of social water management currently based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at Solidarités International. Please listen! P.S. The recording quality was not quite as st...
Mar 24, 2014•45 min
In a bizarre celebration of International Women's Day, hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu explore what it means to be an Asian women in an African country. This week, we had three guests share their experiences as Asian women scholars who do on-the-ground research in Africa: Prof. Yoon Jung Park, convener/coordinator of the (world-famous) Chinese in Africa/Africans in China (CA/AC) Research Network, who is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University with affiliations as Se...
Mar 17, 2014•53 min
In a bizarre celebration of International Women's Day, hosts Winslow Robertson and Dr. Nkemjika Kalu explore what it means to be an Asian women in an African country. This week, we had three guests to share their experiences in the NGO and entrepreneurial world: Jules Shen, an employee of Dalberg in Senegal; Evanna Hu of g.Maarifa in Nairobi; and Eugenia Lee advises nonprofits and startups on how to use ethnographic methods for better engagement of communities. If you are interested in topics of...
Mar 10, 2014•1 hr 37 min
