Coevolutionary Pragmatism is a tour de force. Skilfully moving between macro-level policies and micro-level practices, Xiaoyang Tang evaluates the nature of Chinese development initiatives in Africa and their implications. It is a deeply personal account that draws on an extraordinarily rich dataset. Accumulated over more than a decade of field research across the continent, Tang's experience and expertise give his study unique depth and breadth.
China's engagement in Africa, Tang argues, is based on the interplay between individual initiative and responsive regulation. Ever-changing Chinese activities grow out of pragmatic responses and adjustments to local conditions and collaborations, and the challenges they pose. Referring to Chinese development approaches in the plural rather than the singular, Tang underlines the diversity of experiences and strategies, giving due credit to the ordinary traders, shopkeepers, agricultural experts, miners and entrepreneurs who shape Chinese-led development and render it wondrously dynamic.
Chinese pragmatism in Africa is characterized by three elements, the author explains: the promotion of sustainable economic growth, the transformation of society towards an industrialized market economy, and the coordination of actors and their versatile interactions with African partners. In regard to the first two elements, Chinese development approaches differ little from those of their Western counterparts. It is regarding the path toward what Tang refers to as “sustainable productivity growth” that they are distinct. Western approaches are pre-given and oriented by guiding principles, whereas Chinese ways of understanding and promoting development are target-oriented and non-linear. Just like China's own economic reforms, Chinese development activities in Africa are based on trial and error.
Coevolutionary pragmatism builds on Deborah Bräutigam's thesis that Chinese-led development in Africa is directly related to China's own development experience and takes inspiration from Yuen Yuen Ang's work to show the interactive relationship between government institutions and markets, top-down directions and bottom-up improvisation. Underscoring the cumulative agency of entrepreneurs, professionals and consumers, Tang, however, adopts a more granular approach. The concrete practices of actors on the ground advance socioeconomic coevolution, while adaptive regulatory policies nudge actors in the right direction.
Throughout the book, Tang beautifully brings to the fore the tensions between higher-level visions and grassroot practices, which permeate all sectors, from trade to agriculture and from manufacturing to mining. Actors on the ground, such as the intrepid Chinese traders who straddle Africa's markets selling cheap shoes and household appliances, may skirt regulations for short-term gain and tarnish the reputation of Chinese counterparts who abide by the rules. The continuous improvement of regulations, some of which are developed in collaboration with African counterparts, is geared towards keeping them in check and protecting China's reputation. Other areas, such as environmental protection, are marked by similar tensions. China's recent investments in renewable energy in Africa, for instance, are offset by the poor environmental record of some of its private companies in the mining sector. Conscious of its reputation and keen to protect it, the Chinese government has stepped up efforts to encourage corporate social responsibility and environmental preservation, with mixed results. While state-owned enterprises, which are under tighter scrutiny, have improved their environmental imprint, private, sometimes illegal, businesses continue to defy regulations.
While Tang convincingly depicts the complexity of Chinese approaches to development, he risks simplifying equally diverse, intricate and uncoordinated Western development initiatives in Africa. It is questionable whether the Washington Consensus was ever a consensus to start with when we consider grassroot practices and processes, as Tang does for the Chinese case.
Tang's longitudinal perspective on the Chinese case is, however, invaluable. Tracing the transformation of aid projects through the gradual introduction of market-based mechanisms, Tang shows the sheer dynamism of Chinese development initiatives and the inventive ways in which they have adjusted to local conditions and challenges.
The book nevertheless left me with one question: what about the coevolution of Chinese and Western capital and practices in Africa? China's involvement in Africa is often depicted as separate from the initiatives of European countries, the US, Japan and beyond. The book carries on this tradition. However, many African infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank and European donors have, for instance, been carried out by Chinese contractors. These projects are perhaps examples of how efforts can converge towards common goals – a hope Tang expresses in his preface for a world that has become dramatically divided.
With his careful analysis and vivid ethnographic descriptions, the author succeeds in his aim of generating understanding and creating dialogue amidst this growing geopolitical rift. Coevolutionary Pragmatism is a landmark study that is already part of the canon of global China studies. Provocative yet balanced, thorough in analysis yet lucid in writing, the book is a powerful contribution to the current debate on China's involvement in the Global South and beyond.
