The Non-Interference Policy and Chinese State-Owned Multinational Enterprises in Africa: A Political Strategy Perspective

Most analyses of China’s contemporary engagement with Africa examine this renewed relationship mostly from the level of the Chinese and African governments and little recognition is given to the importance of the Chinese multinational enterprise as a driving force of Chinese policies in Africa. This article views the contemporary Sino-African relations from this less examined perspective – the perspective of the Chinese multinational enterprise. We utilise new institutional theory that recognises that MNEs are faced with pressures to be institutionally isomorphic within the host country that they operate in (external legitimacy) and a political strategy typology to analyse how Chinese SOMNEs achieve and build legitimacy in Africa. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the international business and political economy literature, we argue that the Chinese foreign policy of non-interference is not only to win the hearts of African regimes but also part of an overall political strategy aimed at building the legitimacy and ultimate survival of Chinese SOMNEs.