Helping Africa build Chinese expertise
18 February 2015
The
African East-Asian Affairs (AEAA) journal of the Centre for Chinese
Studies (CCS) at Stellenbosch University is the first African journal on East Asian-
Africa relations to be accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training,
according to the university.
"East Asia's relationship with emerging markets such as Africa, South America, South
East Asia and Central Asia is still fairly new and Africa is an important player in this
new field," explains Dr Ross Anthony, the interim director of the centre and associate
editor of the journal.
The centre has spent the last 10 years focusing on China-Africa relations research,
the only centre in Africa to do so exclusively.
According to Harrie Esterhuyse, a research analyst at the CCS and the deputy editor
of the journal, the publication attempts to capture the developments and nuances of
the relationship between Africa and East-Asian nations,
including China, Japan, Korea
and the states in Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
"Our journal is located in the broader area studies of East-Asia from an African
viewpoint and topics covered include both the domestic developments and the
international relations of these states, with a focus on their engagement with Africa.
"Articles that we publish fall within the social sciences and related disciplines such as
politics, economics, environmental studies and law. We also encourage the
publication of cross-disciplinary studies," he explains.
CCS colleague Dr Sven Grimm is the editor-in-chief of the journal. He is supported by
a board of leading local and international academics. The journal was established in
2006 as the China Monitor. In 2012, the name was changed to its present title.
"The AEAA journal provides a platform for scholars to discuss and share new research
on East Asia-Africa relations. It also gives us a forum to
define and expand on
research in this fairly young field. Since China's involvement in Africa has happened
so quickly, it has had a major impact on areas such as the environment, economics
and trade relations," Grimm says.
Anthony adds: "Africa is very underdeveloped when it comes to expertise on Asia.
The fact that it is an African-based journal examining the East Asian-Africa
relationship is significant, as it helps build capacity on Asia expertise from within the
continent."
While Europe and North America have well-established infrastructure for dealing with
Asia, in Africa the opposite is true.
"It is important for South Africa to build a competency on Asia expertise. China is
now South Africa's, as well as Africa's, largest trading partner and that growth has
been very quick," says Esterhuyse.
"The speed has left us ill-equipped and without sufficient graduates specialising in
this field and with a knowledge and understanding of
China-Africa relations. The
former Western influences are still heavy in Africa in terms of trade relations.
"We therefore need to develop organic, home-grown expertise on China so that we
have knowledgeable people in, for example, government, media and the business
world who understand China-Africa relations and have experienced living and working
in Asia and know how to engage with China."
To this end, the CCS also focuses on providing teaching programmes through a
postgraduate diploma on China-Africa studies and short courses on how governments
can maximise opportunities with China.
The editorial team hopes to apply for International Scientific Indexing accreditation in
two years' time.
Source: Stellenbosch
University
The March 2012 edition of the African East-Asian Affairs journal focused on investment in agriculture. (Image: CCS)
Dr Ross Anthony (left) and Harrie Esterhuyse from the Centre for Chinese Studies. (Image: Stellenbosch University: Hennie Rudman, SSFD)
