- Shirong Chen (China Editor, BBC World Service)
- Richard Dowden (Director of the Royal African Society, author of Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
- Lindsey Hilsum (International Editor of Channel 4 News, longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism 2009)
- Winston Mano (Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Westminster)
- Stephen Marks (China in Africa project coordinator, Fahamu)
- Chaired by Dr Suzanne Franks (Centre for Journalism, University of Kent)
The third of the Orwell Prize’s events at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2009.
Are we witnessing a new scramble for Africa? The ‘scramble for Africa’ in the late 19th Century saw a race between European powers for territory on the continent, and power and prestige everywhere. China, the rising global power, funds infrastructure projects across Africa. Film director Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic advisor to the Beijing Olympics over China’s role in Darfur. Chinese businessmen populate karaoke bars from Luanda to Lagos. How are China’s actions different from old-fashioned imperialism?