In the 1990s, increasing numbers of Chinese companies developed connections with African countries with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This development of... Show moreIn the 1990s, increasing numbers of Chinese companies developed connections with African countries with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This development of Sino-African relations has not gone unnoticed, but the discussion in the West has not been well informed. In order to fill this lacuna, the present paper gives an overview of Sino-African relations, China's aid programme to Africa, and the state of trade relations between China and African countries, with special emphasis on African exports of natural resources, the export market for Chinese products in Africa, and Chinese investments in Africa. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This paper describes some of the methodological and conceptual problems in researching aspects of sub-Saharan Africa's international 'underground' trade, meaning commercial transactions which are... Show moreThis paper describes some of the methodological and conceptual problems in researching aspects of sub-Saharan Africa's international 'underground' trade, meaning commercial transactions which are conducted across international frontiers but which are unrecorded in official data. The authors focus in particular on trade across intercontinental frontiers. They consider some problems of identifying and researching long-distance trade, and particularly intercontinental trade, which is illegal, unofficial or informal. They do so at two levels: first, by looking at sources of evidence for intercontinental flows (the examples of ivory and drugs); second, by adopting a 'bottom-up' approach, studying activities of individuals or small groups of intercontinental traders with a view to extrapolating from their activities in order to draw conclusions of wider application. Finally, they make some remarks concerning new modes of unofficial trade and the people who participate in them. Show less
