Premium
African trading brokers in China: The internet, Covid‐19 and the transformation of low‐end globalization
Author(s) -
Mathews Gordon
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3654
Subject(s) - china , business , the internet , globalization , covid-19 , commerce , international trade , market economy , economics , political science , medicine , disease , pathology , world wide web , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law
Abstract African trading brokers in China buy knock‐off or copy goods and move them through customs via bribery to African ports; this trade, although illegal, brings desired global products to Africa. This paper, based on interviews with African trading brokers, examines how the internet and Covid‐19 have affected their trade. African customers can now find out the accurate prices of goods; computerized customs regimes make bribery difficult; and Covid‐19 has raised shipping costs. While the informal economic arrangements of these trading brokers will probably continue despite policymakers' efforts to eradicate them, China may no longer be the source of their goods.