China in Ethiopia

Aaron Tesfaye

Description

This comprehensive study of China-Ethiopia relations examines why China—an economic and emerging global power—has built relations with Ethiopia and why Ethiopia has responded by singling out China as a partner in its quest for economic development. Using middle-range theory and field research, Aaron Tesfaye focuses on three sets of phenomena: political, economic, and strategic. He explores the following questions: Why are China and Ethiopia building relations at this juncture of globalization? What motivates China's role in helping build Ethiopia's infrastructure, and is Ethiopia's debt to China sustainable? What can Ethiopia offer China in terms of strategic interest in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea littoral, which is now the most sought out area for military bases by regional and international forces? Tesfaye argues that China's ability to meet Africa's tremendous demand for capital and technology is a reflection of its economic and military rise and evidence that the Asian Century has arrived, ushering in a new global reality.
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

Introduction
China and Ethiopia: Analytical Framework
China and Africa: An Overview
Methodology
Structure of the Book

1. China–Ethiopia Relations: Looking Back and Forward
Imperial Ethiopia and China: Pragmatic Relations, 1955–1974
The Military Regime and China: Fragile Solidarity, 1974–1991
China Returns to Ethiopia
Conclusion

2. Contemporary Chinese–Ethiopian Relations
Chinese Political Interests in Ethiopia
Chinese Security Interests in Ethiopia
Ethiopia's Modernization Interest in China
Conclusion

3. China and Ethiopia: Economic Relations
Nature of China–Ethiopia Economic Relations
Nature of Chinese Investment in Ethiopia
China–Ethiopia Trade Relations
Conclusion

4. China and Ethiopia: Strategic Partners
Strategic Elements in China–Ethiopia Relations
Chinese Foreign Assistance to Ethiopia
Ethiopia, China, and the Horn of Africa
Conclusion

5. China and Ethiopia: Long-Term Perspectives
Ethiopia and China's Belt and Road Initiative
Ethiopia's Development Plan, the BRI, and Regional Integration
China and Ethiopia: The Long-Term Perspective
Conclusion

6. Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• International relations
• Development studies

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438478364
• Langue: English

Extrait

CHINA IN
ETHIOPIA
CHINA IN
ETHIOPIA
THE LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
Aaron Tesfaye
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2020 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tesfaye, Aaron, author.
Title: China in Ethiopia : the long-term perspective / Aaron Tesfaye.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019049097 (print) | LCCN 2019049098 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438478357 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438478364 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: China—Foreign relations—Ethiopia. | Ethiopia—Foreign relations—China. | China—Foreign relations—20th century. | Ethiopia—Foreign relations—1889–1974. | Ethiopia—Foreign relations—1974–1991. | Ethiopia—Foreign relations—1991–
Classification: LCC DS775.8 .T47 2020 (print) | LCC DS775.8 (ebook) | DDC 337.63051—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049097
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049098
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
China and Ethiopia: Analytical Framework
China and Africa: An Overview
Methodology
Structure of the Book
Chapter 1. China–Ethiopia Relations: Looking Back and Forward
Imperial Ethiopia and China: Pragmatic Relations, 1955–1974
The Military Regime and China: Fragile Solidarity, 1974–1991
China Returns to Ethiopia
Conclusion
Chapter 2. Contemporary Chinese–Ethiopian Relations
Chinese Political Interests in Ethiopia
Chinese Security Interests in Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s Modernization Interest in China
Conclusion
Chapter 3. China and Ethiopia: Economic Relations
Nature of China–Ethiopia Economic Relations
Nature of Chinese Investment in Ethiopia
China–Ethiopia Trade Relations
Conclusion
Chapter 4. China and Ethiopia: Strategic Partners
Strategic Elements in China–Ethiopia Relations
Chinese Foreign Assistance to Ethiopia
Ethiopia, China, and the Horn of Africa
Conclusion
Chapter 5. China and Ethiopia: Long-Term Perspectives
Ethiopia and China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Ethiopia’s Development Plan, the BRI, and Regional Integration
China and Ethiopia: The Long-Term Perspective
Conclusion
Chapter 6. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Tables 3.1 Licensed Chinese Investment Projects by Region and Status, August 27, 1998 to June 25, 2015 3.2 Chinese Investment in Ethiopia by Major Sector, 2017 (in US$) 3.3 Chinese Investment and Loans in Ethiopia, 2003–2015 (in US$ million) 3.4 Licensed Chinese Investment Projects by Sector and Status, August 27, 1998 to June 25, 2015 3.5 Industrial Parks in Ethiopia 3.6 Ethiopian Exports to China, 2015 3.7 Ethiopia’s Balance of Trade with China, 2006–2015 (in US$ million) 4.1 Historical Data of Chinese Assistance to Ethiopia (1974–1996) 5.1 Ethiopia’s GDP Growth from 2005 to 2010 (in %) 5.2 Sectoral Distribution of GDP (in %) 5.3 Chinese Loan Commitments to Ethiopia by Creditor, 2012–2013
Foreword
The study of African engagement with China, sometimes framed as China–Africa relations, is an area which has expanded enormously over the past two decades. From an obscure interest pursued mostly by a narrow ground of scholar and journalists, the subject has blossomed into a well-recognized research field that has taken the lead in explaining and theorizing transnational relations in its many manifestations. Scholars from a diversity of disciplines, from media studies to international relations, have weighed in on topics such as Chinese and African migration, the impact of Chinese development approaches, and fitting Africa–China security into emerging trends in geopolitics. More recently, forays into knowledge construction and post-structuralist readings of the relationship have garnered interest.
While much of the academic work to date has focused on the “meta-level” or “micro-level” of enquiry, there is much value in examining state–state engagement as an appropriate framework for capturing the variety and dynamism of diplomatic, economic, and even sociological phenomena encompassing Africa–China ties. The expansion of bilateral studies, from the work of Jean-Pierre Cabasten on Francophone Africa–China ties to a host of edited volumes such as the one by Marcus Powers and Ana Cristina Alves on Angola–China relations, arguably offer greater depth in terms of content and insight than the broad sweeps that have characterized most scholarship in its first phase of elaboration.
Aaron Tesfaye’s book China in Ethiopia is one such contribution, investigating the content of a relationship that has an historical context rooted in the Cold War, changing economic and commercial dynamics in the successive era of rapid globalization which have produced new development policies and outcomes that hold implications for state and society. Ethiopia’s strategic management of China has, in many ways, provided other African countries with a textbook case of how to extract value from the relationship—albeit not without problems but nonetheless in a fashion that arguably mirrors the experimental approach to development characteristic of Chinese learning. Moreover, its status as the home of the African Union and concurrently its geographic standing in the Horn of Africa puts it at the nexus of regional (and even beyond, on the Arabian Peninsula) security concerns and the continent’s own version of the “great game” of geopolitics. In this way, Tesfaye’s book is especially important and timely, providing readers with a substantive look at this most important relationship.
Chris Alden
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Acknowledgments
The idea for this book germinated in 2015 while I was teaching a seminar at the Institute of Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, in 2014. I have witnessed, during my yearly visit to Ethiopia, an increasing Chinese presence. Thus, while on a weekend trip in the western part of the country, I encountered an Ethiopian–Chinese roadbuilding crew. I was curious about the international team and I asked the Chinese foreman in English how long they had been working on the project. He didn’t speak English and very little Amharic, the national language. Later on, I brought up the issue with my students, which resulted in a lively debate on the pros and cons of the Chinese in Ethiopia.
The Chinese can be found all over Ethiopia engaged in all sorts of projects, from infrastructure building to resource exploration. However, a significant bilateral study of Chinese and Ethiopian affairs that unpacks political, economic, and strategic relations has been lacking. This book is an attempt to fill the gap in the literature in Sino-African relations. It is intended to contribute to knowledge of our understanding of China and Ethiopia as the latter seeks to establish peace, stability, and—in partnership with China—economic development in the volatile region that is the Horn of Africa.
Many scholars assisted in my tentative steps in beginning to understand China and its relations with Ethiopia. Some of these are Chris Alden, London School of Economics and Political Science; Ian Taylor, University of St. Andrews; Li Anshan, Beijing University; Edmond Keller at the University of California, Los Angles and many colleagues at the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China Research Network. At Addis Ababa University, many thanks go to Kay Mathews, whose thoughtful conversation about China–Africa relations encouraged my research. Finally, I am grateful to officials in the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation, and many individuals at the Ethiopian Investment Agency. Any and all shortcomings of the research, of course, are solely mine.
Aaron Tesfaye
William Patterson University
Abbreviations AASNP Addis Ababa Schools Net Project ALF Algerian Liberation Front AU African Union BRI Belt and Road Initiative CADIP China Association for the Development of Industrial Parks CCECC China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) COMESA Common Market for East and South Africa COSEZ China Overseas Special Economic Zones CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement EAC East African Community EASTBRIG East African Standby Brigade EIPDC Ethiopian Industrial Park Development Corporation EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front EPRP Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party ERC Ethiopia Railway Corporation ETC Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation EXIM Export Import Bank FOCAC Forum on China–Africa Cooperation GTP Growth and Transformation Plan IGAD Intergovernmental Authority for Development JECC Joint Ethiopia–China Commission LAPSSET Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development OAU Organization of African Unity OECD Organization for European Economic Development PASDP Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development Program REC Regional Economic Community SEZ Special Economic Zones TAZARA Tanzania–Zambia