Chinese Products in Ivory Coast: A New Material Culture and New Figures of Success

In this paper, we will focus on consumers of Chinese products, but also other key players in this revolution of Chinese products in Ivory Coast: Ivorian traders, paying particular attention to the micro-social consequences of the arrival of Chinese products on the daily lives of Ivorian people. To date, work on relations between China and Africa is still struggling to grasp the micro-social consequences of Sino-African trade in African economies. Most of this work perceives Sino-African trade in terms of threats or opportunities for the development of African economies. While attention is generally focused on Chinese imports from Africa, given their geostrategic value, we want to show, in the case of Ivory Coast, the profound transformations induced by imports of Chinese products into Ivorian society. Sino-Ivorian trade has grown rapidly in recent years. While in 2012, exports of Ivorian products by China were 55,515 billion francs CFA (Communauté financière d’Afrique); in 2016, they reached 42,383^[1] billion francs CFA, On the other hand, imports from China increased by a whopping 364,103 billion francs CFA in 2012, reaching 885,699 billion francs CFA in 2016. This increase in imports of Chinese products by Ivory Coast corresponds to the arrival of a wide variety of manufactured products in the Ivorian market. For many Ivorians, the presence of these products on the Ivorian market is an expression of good Sino-Ivorian cooperation. In order to appreciate the various dimensions of Chinese products in Ivorian territory, our communication will be part of an interdisciplinary approach and will be based on empirical observations and interviews conducted in Ivory Coast during 2014-2016.