Abstract
Africa- Asia relations entered upon a particularly intense and mutually entangling phase in the last two decades of the twentieth century; this process continues apace in this century. To be sure these relations have a long temporal sweep. Understanding holistically contemporary Ghana-China relations, and in particular the ways in which the manipulation of space has intervened upon and shaped the interaction must be located within this temporal sweep. Methodologically this work will engage discursively with the historical and contemporary information on some of China’s key construction and architectural activities in Ghana over the last six decades with the central aim of teasing out the changes and continuities (ideological, institutional, ideational and strategic) that have marked such undertakings. This work introduces in the process the idea of diplomacy of architecture as a useful analytic lens for exploring Africa-China relations.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
- 2.
On his role as Chief Farmer of the Gold Coast (Ghana’s name in the colonial era) because of his pioneering status in cocoa cultivation and his activities in the fight against British colonialism see Boahen (1985).
- 3.
For a fascinating account of why old buildings matter see in particular pp. 126–133.
References
ABC News. (2020). UHAS Management pleads with government to release funds for stalled projects. https://www.abcnewsgh.com/uhas-management-pleads-with-govt-to-release-funds-for-completion-of-stalled-projects/.
Allotey, G. A., & Abu-Baidu, Z. (2017). Be firm on Chinese illegal miners–Lloyd Amoah to gov’t. http://citifmonline.com/2017/03/28/be-firm-on-chinese-illegal-miners-lloyd-amoah-to-govt/.
Amoah, L. G. A. (Ed.). (2014). Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa. IGI Global.
Amoah, L. G. A. (2016). China, architecture and Ghana’s spaces: Concrete signs of a soft Chinese imperium? Journal of Asian and African Studies, 51(2), 238–255.
Amoah, L. G. A. (2018a). Ghana, China’s Presence and Resilience-An IRI BRIDGE Research Project Report. A Research Commissioned on Contract by the International Republican Institute.
Amoah, L. G. A. (2018b). Five Ghanaian Presidents and China: Patterns, Pitfalls and Possibilities. Accra: University of Ghana Press.
Ashanti Today. (2015). Kumasi Youth Centre left to Rot. http://ashantitoday.blogspot.com/2015/03/kumasi-youth-centre-left-to-rot.html.
Boahen, A. A. (1985). Politics and nationalism in West Africa, 1919–3. In A. A. Boahen (Ed.), General History of Africa, VII: Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880–1935 (pp. 641–642). Paris and California: UNESCO and Heinemann.
Chen, T. (2016). What Happened to China Development Bank’s $3 Billion Loan to Ghana? SAIS-CARI Policy Brief (Vol. 10, pp. 1–4). Washington D.C.: John Hopkins University. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5652847de4b033f56d2bdc29/t/56fab64ecf80a125ba5f4f5a/1459271482280/SAIS-CARI+Brief+%2310+-+Chen+V.8_NEW.pdf. Accessed 2 June 2017.
Confidential Parliamentary Document.
Confucius Institute at UCC. (2021). Chinese Ambassador’s Scholarship at Ciucc. http://confuciusucc.com/.
Ding, G., & Xue, C. Q. (2015). China’s architectural aid: Exporting a transformational modernism. Habitat International, 47, 136–147.
Dreher, A., Fuchs, A., Parks, B., Strange, A., & Tierney, M. J. (2021). Aid, China, and growth: Evidence from a new global development finance dataset. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13(2), 135–174.
Embassy of the people’s Republic of China in the republic of China. (2021). Ghana Receives ¢ 22.2bn Chinese Support. http://gh.china-embassy.org/eng/xwdt/t210792.htm.
Energopojekt Ghana Limited. (1991). International Conference center, Accra, Ghana. https://energoprojektghana.com/references/international-conference-centre.
Fosu, K. (n.d). A Short History of Mampong Akuapem: 1730–2012 (p. 10). Self Published.
Ghana News Agency (GNA). (2018). StarTimes; Ministry of Communication Launch Satellite TV Project. https://www.modernghana.com/news/885674/startimes-ministry-of-communication-launch-satellite-tv-pro.html.
Ghana Web. (2018). Ghana tops African students in China. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-tops-African-students-in-China-687116.
Government of Ghana (n.d.). Fourth Year in Office of Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. Accra, Office of the Press Secretary to the National Redemption Council.
Hui, W. (2003). The historical origin of Chinese Neoliberalism: Another discussion on the ideological situation in contemporary mainland China and the issue of modernity. Chinese Economy, 36(4), 3–42.
Jacobs, J. (2016). The Death and Life of Great American cities. Vintage.
Jaffé, A. (1964). Symbolism in the visual arts. In C. Jung (Ed.), Man and his Symbols (p. 232). New York: Anchor Press/Double Day.
Levin, A. (2016). Haile Selassie’s imperial modernity: Expatriate architects and the shaping of addis ababa. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 75(4), 447–468.
Loeffler, J. C. (1990). The architecture of diplomacy: Heyday of the United States embassy-building program, 1954–1960. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 49(3), 251–278.
Loureiro, P. M., & Saad-Filho, A. (2019). The limits of pragmatism: The rise and fall of the Brazilian Workers’ Party (2002–2016). Latin American Perspectives, 46(1), 66–84.
Mandela, D. (2021). Ghana Begins Renovation Works on Cape Coast Sports Stadium. https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/08/ghana-begins-renovation-works-on-cape-coast-sports-stadium/.
Monson, J. (2009). Africa’s Freedom Railway: How a Chinese development project changed lives and livelihoods in Tanzania. Indiana University Press.
Nkrumah, K. (2001). Dark days in Ghana (pp. 100–101). Panaf.
Rist, G. (2014). The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Song, K., & Zhu, J. (2017). Architecture at a political turning point: Diplomatic buildings in 1970s Beijing. ABE Journal. Architecture beyond Europe, 12.
Tema Expansion Project & GHANA GOV. (2019). The Ghana Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project involves Chinese companies, China Habour Engineering Company and Sinopec respectively. https://www.aecom.com/projects/tema-port-expansion/, http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/1417-phase-two-of-gas-infrastructure-project-ongoing-sinopec.
Van Gameren, D., & Tola, A. T. (2017). A city shaped by diplomacy. The case of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. ABE Journal Architecture beyond Europe, 12.
Wikipedia, Operation Vanguard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vanguard.
Xue, C. Q., Ding, G., Chang, W., & Wan, Y. (2019). Architecture of “Stadium diplomacy”-China-aid sport buildings in Africa. Habitat International, 90, 101985.
Yu, T. (2011). Buildings that Speak Volumes. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-06/29/content_12797648.htm.
Zhang, Y. (2011). Research on China's foreign Aid(1950–2010) 中国对外援助研究 (1950–2010). Jiuzhou Press Institute.
Zion Market Research. (2018). Global Chocolate Market Expected to Reach USD 161.56 Billion By 2024”. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/22/1624439/0/en/Global-Chocolate-Market-Expected-to-Reach-USD-161-56-Billion-By-2024-Zion-Market-Research.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Amoah, L.G.A. (2022). Diplomacy of Architecture: Ghana, China and 60 Years of Spatial Engagement. In: Xue, C.Q., Ding, G. (eds) Exporting Chinese Architecture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2786-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2786-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-2785-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-2786-7
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)