Co-authored by Birthe Pater

In September 2011, the Zambians voted for change - a new government led by President Michael Sata from the Patriotic Front (PF). Michael Sata was well known as the ‘China basher’ in his first election campaign in 2006, which culminated in threats of an earlier Chinese ambassador to cut ties with Zambia, if Sata becomes the new president. At that point, Sata promised to recognize Taiwan as an independent country. He failed to win the election and toned his rhetoric down in the second run. But still, one pillar of Sata’s election campaign in 2011 was promises in favor of workers – job creation and paving roads. Although security standards and labor conditions increased in the mines in general, the ‘Chinese’ mines still challenge these improvements.

At the University of Nottingham, PhD students in the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (Tracey Fallon) and the School of Politics and International Relations (Phil Roberts and Jon Marshall) organized a postgraduate conference on Rising Powers in the Global Political Economy on 5-6 July 2013.

Strolling along the beach front of Durban’s Central Business District with its mixture of modern high-rises and colonial-era buildings one can easily understand why South Africa chose the city for hosting the 5th BRICS Summit in March 2013: The modern hotels, conference centers and boulevards represent the South Africa Pretoria wanted to show the Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese heads of state. After all, South Africa is under some pressure to justify its entry into the exclusive grouping in 2010, since in terms of GDP and domestic market it hardly lives up to the other four countries.