Governing Strangers: African Communities in Guangzhou

Police check certificates of Africans on a business street.

With a population of 1.4 billion, the continent of Africa has a similar number of people to China, although it is approximately three times greater in size. Moreover, the continent has fifty-four countries and boasts the most heterogeneous collection of languages in the world. Such diversity is reflected among the Africans travelling to and residing in Guangzhou, a trading port in southern China. In 2018, we surveyed some 120 Africans in Guangzhou, from thirty countries.[1] Most were traders buy...

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