The economic and social roles of Chinese migrants in Cameroon

Since the late 1990s, Chinese migration to Africa has increased significantly, with Chinese communities now present in nearly every African country. This article examines the case of Cameroon, focusing on the professional activities of Chinese migrants and their impact on local labour markets and economic development. The analysis draws on bilingual survey questionnaires completed by 432 Chinese respondents, complemented by interviews with Chinese migrants and Cameroonians. It identifies the professional profiles of Chinese migrants and explores how their involvement in informal and semi-formal economies generates employment opportunities and increased market competition. Building on debates on China–Africa relations, the article interrogates whether these everyday economic interactions constitute a form of South–South development or reproduce patterns of dependency often associated with earlier forms of external influence. These issues are particularly salient given local concerns about unfair competition and perceptions of profit extraction. The findings show a clear evolution in the roles of Chinese migrants in Cameroon: from the early presence of state-sponsored doctors to a broader spectrum of small-scale entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, and language instructors. While this diversification generates new opportunities, such as employment creation, consumer access to affordable goods, and cross-cultural exchange, it also reinforces social tensions, dependency, and economic asymmetries. The analysis highlights the ambivalent and negotiated nature of Chinese engagement in Cameroon. It suggests that while this engagement does not constitute a fully distinct alternative development model, it reflects a hybrid form of South–South cooperation in which local opportunities coexist with emerging dependency dynamics.