While there are a growing number of books that explore the China-Africa relationship, most are written either by scholars or journalists who are experts in the field and are written in a style that is often inaccessible for people new to this subject.
Beijing-based author and social entrepreneur Lina Getachew Ayenew saw this as the perfect opportunity to write a China-Africa book “for everyone else.” She was well-positioned to do so given that she had spent years producing easy-to-understand summaries of China-Africa news and events for readers in Beijing. So Lina pulled together five years of those digests as the source material for her a new book that chronicles China-Africa relations from the years 2014-2018.
Lina joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the book, The Complete Beginner’s Guide to China-Africa Relations, and to share her views on some of the key “mega themes” that are shaping China-Africa relations today.
- Reporting FOCAC: 5 Must-Read China-Africa Books by Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden
- The Beijing: This Book Will Tell You Everything You Need to Know About China-Africa Relations by Tom Arnstein
- Time Out Beijing: Interview: Lina Getachew Ayenew talks complexity, change and China-Africa relations
About Lina Getachew Ayenew:
Lina Getachew Ayenew is an independent consultant focused on China-Africa policy and market research.After receiving her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Yale University, she moved to China to teach at the prestigious Xiangya Medical School through the Yale-China Teaching Fellowship. Following a corporate stint in Beijing, she began her efforts to closely study the influence of the Asian giant in her homeland, Ethiopia. Most recently, she has been working with the Ethiopian Tourism Organization (a government entity) to define Ethiopia’s tourism brand and promote it in China. Lina is a native speaker of Amharic and English, fluent in French and highly proficient in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. She hopes her reports on Africa-China relations will not only inform her readers but also expand the debate on China’s role in Africa’s development.
