The Implications of China’s Engagement in Africa – Virtual Program

This is a virtual program. Instructions on how to join this meeting will be sent the day before the event.

China’s engagement in Africa is not new, but it is coming under renewed scrutiny as the United States takes a more confrontational approach to China. Through significant investment in Africa’s oil and mining sectors, China has obtained advantageous trade deals and become the continent’s largest trade partner. The Belt and Road Initiative further embeds China in the continent – and China’s policy of non-interference means that investment and development decisions are undertaken without regards to human rights or environmental standards. But is the prevailing narrative—that Chinese officials and companies are taking advantage of African countries—accurate? Join the World Affairs Council and W. Gyude Moore for a discussion on the complexities of China’s engagement in Africa—from debt relief measures, infrastructure projects, covid-19 and health diplomacy, and how the U.S.-China relationship is playing out on the continent.

About the Speaker
W. Gyude Moore is a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. He previously served as Liberia’s Minister of Public Works with oversight over the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure from December 2014 to January 2018.

Prior to that role, Moore served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU). As Head of the PDU, his team monitored progress and drove delivery of the Public Sector Investment Program of Liberia—a program of over $1 billion in road, power, port infrastructure, and social programs in Liberia after the civil war. As one of the President’s trusted advisors, he also played a crucial role in supporting President Sirleaf as Liberia responded to the West Africa Ebola outbreak and shaped its post-Ebola outlook

At CGD, Moore’s research focus is around financing infrastructure in Africa and the changing landscape of development finance on the continent. His research tracks the channels of private sources of finance, the rise of China and its expanding role in Africa, and Africa’s response to these changes. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University. He holds a BS in Political Science from Berea College and an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

About the Moderator
Andrew Pacelli, a 2020-2021 Fellow of the World Affairs Council of Seattle, is the Regional Director for Global Strategy and Market Development for Boeing Commercial Airplanes with responsibility for Africa. In this role Andrew develops actionable strategies to position Boeing as the aerospace partner of choice for governments and airlines while promoting activities that will strengthen the local aviation ecosystem. Andrew joined Boeing from the U.S. Department of State where he was a career member of the Foreign Service. Most recently he detailed to the White House as Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (NSC). Other State Department assignments include service in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Washington, DC. He earned an AB from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The Boeing Company is an underwriting sponsor of all
World Affairs Council Community Programs

This program is sponsored by the Foster School of Business Global Business Center