Plurality in China’s South–South Cooperation: The Case of Rice Projects in Mali

Abstract

In recent years, particularly since 2000, there has been much discussion regarding the acceleration of China’s presence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). China’s increasing engagement with the countries of SSA, and larger South–South development partnerships, has had a ripple effect throughout communities of scholars and development practitioners. Surely, China’s role in South–South cooperation will continue to be of great importance throughout the twenty-first century. As the second largest economy in the world, the increasing international influence held by China, and its multifaceted engagement with other developing countries, gives cause to consider China’s role in relation to “traditional” international development actors. However, discussion has often remained in the realm of macroeconomics and state-to-state analysis, with less attention paid to the details of local- and sectoral-level activities. As such, the current analysis of China’s presence in SSA has too often been very broad, with little examination of the complexities and pluralities of this relationship with regard to entrenched international actors and third-party partnerships.