On June 5th 2019, I was invited by the vibrant French community in Beijing to discuss China-Africa relations. We paid special attention to how China is changing the dynamics in francophone West African nations, which are a part of France’s sphere of influence. While it is true that France still wields a lot of influence in these countries, West African governments are also taking advantage of Chinese loans, and West African consumers are increasingly exposed to Chinese companies like StarTimes.

I especially enjoyed this discussion because it was entirely in French. I began studying the language at age 19 and never thought that I would one day lead a discussion using it.