The Dragonandrsquo;s Deal: Educational Development and Knowledge Sharing in China-Africa Cooperation

Abstract

For decades, China has been unceasingly making headway on the modality and quality of educational collaboration. This educational collaboration comes through student exchange, joint initiatives (research) and special training programs for African educational officials, as well as other long- and short-term training of Africans in China. On the other hand, in the discourse about China-Africa relations, technology transfer is one of the less investigated subjects; however, technology transfers have existed in China-Africa cooperation in the form of knowledge sharing. The paper explores the following: (i) ‘what’ are transferred through knowledge sharing; (ii) the potential for cooperation in knowledge sharing between China and African countries that are core to economic development in the areas of agriculture, medical and knowledge sharing from China’s development experience. Chinese methods of teaching ‘how to develop’ based on its own experience may help fortify the independence of African nations and build win-win cooperation for long-term development.