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China-Africa Initiative

Hosted by the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa

The Initiative will strive to enlighten, debate, influence and inspire Chinese engagements in Africa.

Dr Shirley Yu, Director of the ½ûÂþÌìÌà China-Africa Initiative

Objectives and activities

China has become Africa’s largest investor, biggest trading partner, preeminent digital services provider and increasingly a soft power influencer. It is clear that China’s role in Africa’s future will be both complex and enduring.

The China-Africa Initiative will actively contribute to student-led programmes and FLIA’s ongoing Programme for African Leadership, while aiming to encompass multi-stakeholder perspectives and engage multi-disciplinary discourses in the social sciences and arts and humanities. In addition to regular publications on FLIA public platforms, the Initiative will demonstrate a commitment to broaden China-Africa research projects, working with departments at ½ûÂþÌìÌà and globally.

The Initiative will strive to enlighten, debate and, where possible and appropriate, influence and inspire Chinese engagements in Africa through research, policy engagements and events, including China-in-Africa conferences, workshops and exhibitions.

Shirley Yu

Dr Shirley Yu | Director of the China-Africa Initiative

Shirley Ze Yu is a leading voice on China’s political economy, an Asia Fellow with the Ash Center of Harvard Kennedy School, an adjunct professor with the IE Business School and a member of the Davos Expert Network on 5G, geopolitics and geoeconomics.

Email: s.yu19@lse.ac.uk


China in Africa blog series

  • (February 2022)
  • (February 2022)
  •  (September 2021)
  •  (June 2021)
  •  (April 2021)
  •  (March 2021)

Events

Highlight speakers:
- Dr Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- H.E. Ambassador Geraldo Nunda, Angolan Ambassador to the UK
- Dr. Nkosana Moyo, former minister of Industry and International Trade, Zimbabwe; former COO, African Development Bank
- Ali Kooli, former minister of the Economy, Finance, and Trade, Tunisia 
- Dr. Robert Ochola, CEO, AfricaNanda

Date: 18 November 2023

China-Africa Conference 2021 – Lead the 22nd Century: Africa’s Future and the role of China

The China-Africa Conference 2021 addressed the deepening relationship between China and the African continent and marked the launch of the China-Africa Initiative at the FLIA.

Highlight speakers: 
- Jingdong Hua, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank
- Leslie Maasdorp, CFO, the New Development Bank
- Dr Nkosana Moyo, Former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the African Development Bank (AfDB)
- Professor Kevin Urama, Senior Director, African Development Institute, African Development Bank Group
- Ambassador Alan Wm. Wolff, Former Co-Director General, the WTO; Distinguished Senior Fellow, PIIE

Date: 28 September 2021
.
View the conference agenda.

Initiative assets

Presentations

Video

  • .

Sponsorships

The China-Africa Initiative invites sponsorships to support the ½ûÂþÌìÌà China-Africa Conference. Opportunities include:

  • Individual patron (£500): support provided for China-Africa Initiative conference organisation.
  • Conference panel sponsor (£2,500): name recognition at the conference; logo presence on promotions; panel branding; access to network opportunities within the conference.
  • Conference patron (£4,500): all the above; company brand/video slides in between sessions. 
  • China-Africa Initiative patron (£10,000): all the above; official partnership logo on the China-Africa Initiative webpage and conference page; invitations to non-public events hosted by the Initiative; opportunity to propose relevant events focussed on cross-regional activities.

For more information, please contact s.yu19@lse.ac.uk