Trade networks between Africa and Asia, the case of the Sino – Cameroon trade cooperation : A contribution to economic anthropology.

Abstract

This research is based on trade and migration with the topic; “Trade Networks between Africa and Asia, the case of the Sino-Cameroon Trade cooperation, a contribution to economic Anthropology”. The Sino-Cameroon bilateral and trade cooperation has over the recent years been characterized by unequal trade balances. Our main research question is; what are the main cooperation agreements reached by Asian and African governments that provide the development of a new trade network between the Asian and African countries? The main research hypothesis is: Good bilateral cooperation and cheap prices of Asian goods and services attract Cameroonian traders to Asia while rich natural resources, available markets and infrastructural development projects attract the Asians to Cameroon. The main research objective was to: Show how good bilateral cooperation between Cameroon and China can promote the movement of goods and people across the borders. Make Cameroonians to know what they are gaining and losing from the trade agreements with China. Qualitative research techniques were used in this work. Two grounded anthropological theories were used to analyse our data. We have the Stone Age anthropology of Marshall Sahlins and the anthropology of marketing by Brian Morean. The key findings were; firstly, that China and most Asian countries have developed an emerging trade culture with African states, which involves supplying some of their finished products thought to respond to the needs of African countries and in turn extract raw materials from these African countries and exported to their respective countries for transformation. Secondly, in the Sino – Africa trade relationships, there is parallel extraction and exportation of agricultural, mineral and human resources from Africa to China (Asia) which does not identify the source country of such material. In return, finished products from these extracted resurces are supplied to Cameroon through Sino-Cameroonian traders. Thirdly, Cameroonian traders in the midst of trade competition with China have developed outreach strategies to purchase their goods and services in many different Asian countries. Their retailing options in Cameroon are diversified to their social networks (families, njangi, tontines, warehouses and provision stores) to capture a wider market whereas the Chinese are restricted to their shops established in market plazas. The study is limited to the Sino – Cameroon trade cooperation, though Cameroon and China have been used as the baseline of the Sino – African trade, the outreach strategies provide a reason for the extension of these analyses to Africa and Asia. The Asian- African trade networkwhich is grounded on trade negotiations maybe a better economic or trade option for African governments to explore. This will enable them to setup new trade and economic systems. A new trade system grounded on negotiation deals with Asian trade partners as opposed to the imperalists (the Western) trade deals may help African countries to develop some business autonomy.