Over the course of my research I've come to familiarize myself with Cape Verde - a tiny country off the western coast of Africa, and the focus of Jason DeParle's brief multimedia in the NYTimes. Cape Verde has for a long time been the mecca of global migrants. While the flow of migration has generally been from the country, the reality is quickly beginning to reverse itself, particularly in the face of the new wave of Chinese migrants.
In the past, Chinese overseas migration was largely driven by politics: today, business is the new watchword. The Chinese are chasing after oil, timber and other natural resources all across Africa. More than this, however, they are quickly establishing small-scale Chinatowns and setting up shops in countless city centers.
At the end of 2003, there were 27 Chinese shops in Sao Vincente, Cape Verde's second largest city. This is a five-fold increase since the mid-1990s. Each shop sells Chinese clothes, shoes, travel accessories, kitchenware and other knickknacks, and together these shops are driving out local businesses or forcing them to diversify the products they sell. Similar realities exist in Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria - indeed, all over the African continent.
Until recently, scholars of Sino-African relations have overlooked these micro-level encounters. Yet it is perhaps here that our attention should be focused. My guess is that China's resource grab isn't going to last indefinitely, whereas Chinese shops and restaurants are seemingly here to stay. Cape Verde is just one case in point. Understanding the organization and business strategies of these small-scale businesses, as well as their relations with local society, may be a key to future development agendas and microfinance projects. It is, after all, at this lowest of levels that the true impact of 'China in Africa' is being felt.