First published 2014
Howard French documents how over one million Chinese migrants have established themselves across Africa, creating what amounts to a new empire on the continent. The author travels extensively to witness this massive population movement firsthand, examining how these settlers are transforming local economies, politics, and social structures. French explores the motivations driving ordinary Chinese citizens to leave their homeland for African nations, the reception they receive from local populations, and the long-term implications of this demographic shift. Through detailed reporting and personal accounts, the book reveals how this migration represents more than economic opportunity. It constitutes a fundamental reordering of global power relationships, with China extending its influence through people rather than just trade agreements or infrastructure projects. French offers readers an ground-level view of one of the most significant but underreported stories of the twenty-first century.
Genres: history, politics, economics, china, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, africa
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ground-level-view, investigative-journalism
Setting: Africa, China
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Knopf