Glasgow Refugee and Asylum Network (GRAMNet) The Africa-China Connection

The Africa-China Connection follows a group of Nigerian immigrants in the Chinese metropolis Guangzhou. This community is at the vanguard of an important trend that will determine the economic and political development in the first half of the 21st century: the flow of migrants from low-wage countries is shifting from the old continent Europe to the new economies in Asia. While Europe is slowly becoming a fortress and rapidly aging, African migrants are going east. According to experts this will have disastrous consequences for the European economy and hence the future of its citizens.

The film portrays the everyday lives of these ‘new fortune-seekers’ in China and analyses the significance of this development with philosopher and political scientist Achille Mbembe, and Ian Goldin, former vice-president of the World Bank, advisor to Nelson Mandela, and currently professor of Globalization and Development at Oxford University. Their analysis shows that Europe should open its borders as soon as possible if it wants to keep pace with developments in the coming century.

Director Pieter van der Houwen / Netherlands / 2013 / 50 mins