9-11 Sep 2015 Paris (France)
Mapping Chinese Entrepreneurial Spaces in Lusaka: Will Lusaka get its own Chinatown?
Gerald Chungu  1@  
1 : University of the Witwatersrand  (WITS)  -  Website
Private Bag 3 2050 WITS Johannesburg, South Africa -  Afrique du Sud

The Chinese government's drive to access African Natural resources has also opened doors for Chinese private entrepreneurs to join in the ‘ African economic boom' and set up shop in Lusaka and other Zambian cities. One of the emerging questions is whether the Chinese are in Africa to stay or only around for as long as natural resources last. Zambia's passing of the Land act of 1996 eased ownership of land by foreigners resulting in many foreign investors including Chinese entrepreneurs acquiring land for development around the country. Are these acquisitions part of “cashing in” within the property market or are they markers or indicators for Chinese permanency and integration in the Zambia social-cultural environment? Reading the built environment as text, the paper will, through mapping of Chinese entrepreneurial spaces attempt to address the question of Chinese permanency or temporariness in their engagement with Africa and how this is bound to affect the urban landscape.


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