In 2007, in response to both the increasingly polarized media coverage of the "China-in-Africa" narrative and the dearth of scholarship on the people-to-people experience, a small group of scholars – at the time based in southern Africa (at the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, the Centre for Chinese Studies, the South African Institute of International Affairs, and the African Labour Research Network) and Hong Kong (at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong) – decided to form a small research working group focused on grounded, empirical research with the aim of learning what was happening at the grassroots level and hoping to provide alternative, grassroots narratives. We raised some funds, conducted several independent and joint research projects, and organized a conference to present our findings and meet with other scholars working in the growing field.
The first small international working conference, hosted by the University of Johannesburg in 2009, attracted a group of about three dozen scholars from around the globe. In keeping with the grassroots nature of the initial research working group, we also hosted a public event inviting members of the local Chinese South African community to participate and share their experiences. Post-conference, our network grew to about thirty China-Africa researchers and has continued to expand, mostly by word of mouth. Initially maintaining contact via email, we decided to start a listserv (via Google Groups) once the membership topped 100 in 2010. In response to increasing numbers of Chinese members (and members who were either based in China or who had lived/studied there), we also launched a WeChat group in 2018.
For nearly two decades the CA/AC Research Network membership has continued to grow, organically, year-on-year, as more and more researchers and practitioners turn their attention to China and Africa engagement at various levels. With a core of dedicated sociologists, anthropologists, human geographers, and ethnographers who retain a focus on the people-to-people aspects of China-Africa engagement, the CA/AC Research Network's membership currently represents a broad range of China-Africa researchers and practitioners including people from political science and international relations, media and communications, the arts, as well as development, environment, and security-focused disciplines and organizations. Today, we close to 1,500 members across our listserv and WeChat platforms.
Since our first conference, we have identified a range of institutional hosts and secured funding to hold conferences every few years. To date, our CA/AC Research Network conferences have been hosted by the Center for Sociological Research at the University of Johannesburg (2009); Monash University, South Africa campus (2012); Jinan University, Guangzhou (2014); The Graduate School of Media and Communications of Aga Khan University, Nairobi (2016); and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels (2018). Our planned 2020 conference, to be hosted by Lingnan University in Hong Kong, was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic; after hosting a virtual conference in 2022, we have begun planning a CA/AC conference with Lingnan for May 2025.
In addition to organizing our own conferences, we have organized panels for other international conferences including the International Convention of Asia Scholars, the Association for Asian Studies, the African Studies Association, American Anthropological Association, the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Association of Asia Studies in Africa, and the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas. Several of these conferences and conference panels have resulted in special journal issues, edited volumes, and numerous scholarly articles.
From 2013 through 2016 the CA/AC Research Network partnered with the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), known for its work as a social sciences incubator. With generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation, we worked with the SSRC to establish the China-Africa Knowledge Project Research Hub. In addition to creating a website, we co-hosted a conference with Yale University, created a global advisory body, and began to consolidate our institutional partnerships.
In 2017, the CA/AC Research Network registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the state of Maryland and received our US tax-exempt status (EIN 82-1781039). We also began a relationship with the African and Asian Studies Centers at Michigan State University (MSU) to host a new website. In mid-2021, with funding from the Ford Foundation, we were able to secure some staffing and consolidate our relationship with the African Studies Center at MSU, which currently serves as the CA/AC Research Network's administrative and communications hub. We received funding from the Ford Foundation in May 2022; our original two-year grant has recently been extended by an additional year. Through this Ford grant we have been able to launch local Network chapters (currently active in Cameroon, Shanghai, Taiwan, the UK, Italy, Uganda, Malawi, and Nigeria), host annual early career scholars' and writing-for-impact workshops, and provide travel bursaries to our Global South members for international conferences.
Since our founding, the CA/AC Research Network has nurtured a unique international community of scholars and practitioners, dedicated to research-based, independent scholarship and work. From our modest beginnings in Johannesburg, South Africa, continue to focus on supporting our members, especially our African partners, as we continue to provide leadership to a growing global community.