Yaru Yang

My research explores everyday Chinese-Kenyan interactions in Nairobi, focusing on how young professionals navigate and reshape economic, social, and political dynamics within the broader forces of globalisation. I examine how Chinese investments and business activities have transformed Africa into a space of opportunity, ambition, and contestation, not only for companies but also for individuals seeking economic mobility and personal reinvention. In workplaces, from multinational corporations to small businesses, I analyse how power, value, and identity are negotiated through everyday encounters, revealing tensions and adaptations in management, collaboration, and social hierarchy. I also investigate how language mediates cross-cultural interactions and manifests in a double-racialisation process—how it is used, adapted, and contested in shaping relationships, structuring inequalities, and redefining racial perceptions. Beyond economic exchanges, I explore attempts to build friendships, kinship-like ties, and shared communities, highlighting both the possibilities and constraints shaped by cultural expectations, class differences, and historical narratives.