China–Africa Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone Project Cooperation

Abstract

With more than 10 years of construction, Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (OETCZ) has become an important aspect of Sino-Africa cooperation. However, the development process of China–Africa Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone highlights a paradox that economic logic is not suffice to explain its rapid development, because neither the business environment of the African host country nor the Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone’s profit expectations have been significantly improved. The authors argue that it is the innovative experience-sharing model that makes both Chinese enterprises and African host countries able to reduce the political, economic, and time costs of development. China–Africa Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone building has effectively combined gap-closing model and ladder-climbing modes of development experience sharing, thus applied Chinese experience to Africa contexts beyond time and space. However, due to Chinese enterprises’ lack of experience of ‘going global’, twisted motivations, and alienation with the local economy, among others, the innovation of experience-sharing mode is much more spontaneous rather than conscious, and there is still significant room for improvement.