China’s South-South development cooperation in practice: China and Ethiopia’s industrial parks

Abstract

China’s strategic partnership with Africa has expanded significantly over the past decade. China’s bilateral state-to-state relationships have formed a bedrock of South-South Cooperation and have been framed and substantially reinforced by the multilateral cooperative processes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. China adopts a holistic approach to sustainable development with its African partners. This chapter evaluates the impact of China’s development partnership on sub-Saharan Africa’s sustainable development, and provides a case study of China’s relationship with Ethiopia. The Ethiopian experience illustrates the evolving character of China’s approach to African development and the importance of production capacity cooperation, especially light manufacturing, promoted through the creation of industrial parks. The chapter argues that these parks have provided significant development gains for Ethiopia and have strengthened South-South cooperation.