China's presence in North African economies is expanding rapidly, as both an important trading partner, and increasingly as an investor. Chinese involvement can be readily seen in North African sectors like energy, infrastructure development, retail trade and, increasingly, in manufacturing.
Yet, at the same time, North African industry has experienced the fallout associated with Chinese competitiveness in manufacturing within their domestic market and in third country markets.
This has contributed to the underlying structural problem of unemployment in the region and raised fears in some quarters that greater Chinese involvement would ultimately harm the development aspirations of North Africa.
Chinese Investments and Employment Creation in Algeria and Egypt, explores the specific characteristics of China's engagement in the region with the aim of demonstrating whether this engagement is successful in creating employment opportunities locally. By examining FDI inflows to North Africa from China, and the trade relationship between the two, the article is able to examine the impact of Chinese competitiveness on North Africa's unemployment challenges.
The article concludes by providing a list of policy recommendations for North African countries so that they may be able to obtain the types of economic benefits, in particular job creation opportunities, from their growing relationship with China.
Contacts
Vincent Castel
