The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa

February 2, 2010 • 9:00 – 11:00 pm EST

Book Launch and Roundtable discussion

The Africa Program and the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS

Invite you to a Book Launch Event

The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa

Dr. Deborah Bräutigam
Professor, International Development Program
American University's School of International Service

With commentary by

Dr. Ernest Aryeetey,
Senior Fellow & Director, Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings Institution

and

Dr. Harry G. Broadman,
Senior Vice President, Albright Stonebridge Group and
Chief Economist, Albright Capital Management LLC

Moderated by

Ms. Bonnie S. Glaser
Senior Fellow, CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies

Books will be available for purchase
Snacks and beverages will be served

Is China a rogue donor? Media reports about huge aid packages, support for pariah regimes, regiments of Chinese labor, and the ruthless exploitation of workers and natural resources in some of the poorest countries in the world have sparked fierce debates. China's tradition of secrecy fuels rumors and speculation, making it difficult to gauge the risks and opportunities in China's growing embrace. This well-timed new book, by one of the world's leading experts, tackles the myths and the sometimes surprising realities. It explains what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, and why this engagement has a chance of working better for Africa's development than decades of efforts from the West.

Deborah Bräutigam is the author of Chinese Aid and African Development (1998), Aid Dependence and Governance (2000), and coeditor of Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries (2008). A long-time observer of Asia and Africa, she has lived in China, Southeast Asia, West Africa and Southern Africa, and traveled extensively across both regions as a Fulbright researcher and consultant for the World Bank, the UN, and other development agencies. Her most recent book, The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa, was published by Oxford University Press in December 2009.