As you might expect from a researcher, Ding Fei is frustrated by polarizing media headlines that obscure the complex challenges present in Chinese development work in Africa, a topic she has explored extensively. Fei, who joined the Department of City and Regional Planning at AAP in 2023 as an assistant professor, says that "politically charged narratives often miss the nuances of different layers of actors involved and the diversity of the day-to-day interactions." Through her work, she has come to especially value the power of understanding the interplay of all the various actors and how those dynamics ripple out across communities. It's a perspective that shapes her own research, as well as the conversations and projects she explores with students in the classroom.
Molly Sheridan: To begin with, could you tell me about your research areas of focus and what motivated you to zero in on these topics?
Ding Fei: I'm broadly interested in international development planning, infrastructure-led urbanization and industrialization, as well as issues of labor and migration in the context of South-South cooperation. My empirical research focuses on Chinese activities in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, where I've studied different types of Chinese activity. I'm interested in understanding how these activities influence community engagement, labor skills development, and the transfer of knowledge in the context of Afro-Asian linkages.
I'm interested in this topic primarily because I'm puzzled by the polarized media headlines about what China is doing in Africa. There was a period of time when South-South cooperation was broadly celebrated as something that brought mutual respect and reciprocity to development cooperation; it represented an alternative to the North-South relationship, which was often marked by the one-way transfer of knowledge and policies. But in reality, there are power dynamics and uneven capabilities within the so-called Global South.
I think the media headlines often capture either the celebratory aspects of China-Africa relationships - Chinese loans filling the gap of infrastructure financing in Africa or depicting China as a neocolonial power exploiting African workers and resources. These politically charged narratives often miss the nuances of different layers of actors involved and the diversity of the day-to-day interactions. My work aims to go beyond those headlines to unpack the dynamics of these relationships and examine the real impact on people and communities on the ground.
MS: Would you speak a little bit more about what you're actually finding that is different from what we're reading in the headlines? Or just generally, what you wish more people knew about the issues you study?
DF: A common narrative in the headlines is that all Chinese activities are directed by the Chinese state. But in reality, there's much disparity within the so-called Chinese state - between central and local governments, between different ministries, and between governments and state-owned enterprises. We often see misalignments between what's said and what's actually done. Beyond state actors, there are also private actors - some with varying degrees of affiliation to the state - and a significant number of Chinese workers. Many of these workers come from the middle and lower strata of Chinese society and seek overseas jobs to support their families back home. These private actors and labor groups are often missing from the conversation.
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