Author: Ana Cristina Alves.

While the promotion of Chinese economic and trade co-operation zones (ETCZs) has been hailed as an instrument for attracting Chinese investment into all sectors across Africa, the bulk of ETCZs to date have been targeted at the continent’s resource – rich countries and the largest markets. The JinFei ETCZ on the small, resource – poor island of Mauritius is a notable exception. This paper investigates the role that the Mauritius government played in convincing China to locate an ETCZ on the island, despite a host of obstacles, on terms which meet the country’s development aims.