Speaker: Cobus van Staden, Senior Researcher on China-Africa relations, South African Institute of International Affairs.

Before the Belt and Road Initiative became the heart of Chinese foreign engagement, China was already active in Africa. The lessons it learned in building railways, ports, and diplomatic networks on the continent helped to shape Beijing’s global rollout of infrastructure and influence. But how has China-Africa engagement, and the subsequent BRI, shaped African governance? Where and how does the continent exercise agency in dealing with China? And what lessons can Central Asia learn as it navigates the new landscape shaped by the BRI and China’s rise as a global superpower