- ABOUT IHSSABOUT IHSS
- PEOPLE
- NEWS & EVENTSNEWS & EVENTS
- RESEARCHRESEARCH
- FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTSFELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS
- TEACHING & LEARNINGTEACHING & LEARNING
- PUBLICATIONSPUBLICATIONS
Marketing Africa: Production of Knowledge about Africa by Businesspeople on Chinese Short-Video Platforms
Dr. Rundong Ning
The University of Hong Kong
Date and Time:
September 30, 2025 (Tue) 12:30 – 13:30 HKT
[Sep 29, 2025 (Mon) 21:30 – 22:30 PDT]
Venue:
Rm 201 at May Hall or via Zoom
https://hku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K3V5iasZRYCpW-6gnZlHDQ
Marketing Africa: Production of Knowledge about Africa by Businesspeople on Chinese Short-Video Platforms
Dr. Rundong Ning
The University of Hong Kong
Date and Time:
September 30, 2025 (Tue) 12:30 – 13:30 HKT
[Sep 29, 2025 (Mon) 21:30 – 22:30 PDT]
Venue:
Rm 201 at May Hall or via Zoom
https://hku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K3V5iasZRYCpW-6gnZlHDQ
Title:
Marketing Africa: Production of Knowledge about Africa by Businesspeople on Chinese Short-Video Platforms
Speaker:
Dr. Rundong Ning
The University of Hong Kong
Date/Time:
September 30, 2025 (Tue) 12:30 – 13:30 HKT
[Sep 29, 2025 (Mon) 21:30 – 22:30 PDT]
Venue:
Rm 201 , May Hall, The University of Hong Kong (Map), or Via Zoom
Language:
English
Enquiry:
Title:
Marketing Africa: Production of Knowledge about Africa by Businesspeople on Chinese Short-Video Platforms
Speaker:
Dr. Rundong Ning
The University of Hong Kong
Date/Time:
September 30, 2025 (Tue) 12:30 – 13:30 HKT
[Sep 29, 2025 (Mon) 21:30 – 22:30 PDT]
Venue:
Rm 201 , May Hall, The University of Hong Kong (Map), or Via Zoom
Language:
English
Enquiry:
In recent years, contents showing deep knowledge about African countries and people have been increasingly popular in Chinese social media, especially on short video platforms. Such knowledge often contains insider business information and cultural understandings of Africa that are difficult to get without living in Africa for a long time. Drawing on a handcrafted dataset of streaming contents and short videos, I analyze some of the Africa-related short videos posted since late 2023, and address this question: how are Chinese content creators representing their deep knowledge of Africa in Chinese social media by short videos? I show that a key theme in the representations of China-Africa connections is marketing Africa to their Chinese audience by well-established Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa. These representations of Africa, much more precise and nuanced than the more widely circulated stereotypical if not racist representations of Africa, bring detailed and vivid information about Africa to many Chinese unfamiliar with the region. But at the same time, capitalist values heavily shape these representations in such a way that, in them, Africa appears almost exclusively as a source of profit. Further, I suggest that the capitalistic aspect in this knowledge comes from an increasingly popular imagination of Africa as a frontier of profits and the context of a fervor of “going overseas” of Chinese businesses.
Rundong Ning is an RGC Post-doctoral Fellow at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests include work and labor, entrepreneurship, volunteerism, and digital economy. His current research focuses on China-Kenya connections in the digital economy and entrepreneurship in Congo-Brazzaville. His publications appear in Current Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, American Journal of Cultural Sociology, African Studies Review, Africa, and other outlets.
This series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this seminar or would be interested in giving a talk, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).
Light refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
POSTER
Copyright © 2025 Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.
Error: Contact form not found.