Africa's Engagement with China in Infrastructure Development
Thu 13 February 2025 10:15 - 11:45 (CET)

BCCN Lecture Series #4: Africa's Engagement with China in Infrastructure Development
The "Lecture Series on Science, Technology, and Innovation" at TU Berlin in cooperation with the BCCN (Berlin Contemporary China Network) provides an interdisciplinary platform to explore cutting-edge developments in science and technology. International experts share insights into innovative approaches and discuss their societal, economic, and environmental impacts. The series encourages dialogue between research, industry, and the public, offering students and attendees a chance to engage with forward-looking topics.
Here you can join this and other online or hybrid lectures of the lecture series: https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/j/69639573548?pwd=l4NpWJI9B3qilouRvqq3OzFke88E5J.1.
Abstract:
After the fall of the Berlin wall, the national security strategy of the West changed, reducing the need for supporters and client states. In that pivot, Africa lost its relevance. Faced with Western indifference, African states which had been heavily courted during the Cold War found themselves without friends. This period coincided with China's rise as the "world's factory" and an insatiable appetite for commodities. Africa's search for new sources of capital and China's search for resources "at source" created the perfect confluence of interest out of which China becomes the continent's largest bilateral creditor and trade partner. This talk tracks that relationship and its implications for today.
Bio:
W. Gyude Moore is the inaugural Visiting Fellow of Global Neighbours, a Vienna-based do-and-think tank, which intends to “inform, connect and empower business, politics and society to build a bridge between Europe, Asia and beyond”.
He is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD, Washington/London). He previously served as Liberia’s Minister of Public Works and prior to that, as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit. At CGD, Moore focuses on governance, infrastructure in Africa and the changing landscape of development finance on the continent. His research tracks the role of external actors on the continent, especially the rise of China, and Africa’s response to these changes. He is also a lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.