Special section article Performing ‘‘China in Africa’’ for the West: Chinese migrant discourses in Angola Cheryl Mei-ting Schmitz New York University Shanghai Abstract As China’s largest trading partner in Africa and host to an estimated 250,000 Chinese migrants, Angola is one of the most significant sites for analyzing China–Africa relations today. This paper, based on ethnographic fieldwork in both Angola and China conducted in 2013–2014, analyzes conversations about Chinese globalization in Africa to show how Chinese speakers spoke perfor- matively about a politically charged phenomenon in which they found them- selves implicated. Encounters between Chinese expatriates, a European journalist and an American anthropologist reveal the assumptions underlying which questions get posed about Chinese interventions in Africa and how Chineseness is articulated in response. Keywords Chinese migration, Angola, performativity, China–Africa relations, Western journalism Introduction In April 2014, I had been conducting ethnographic fieldwork among Chinese businesses in Luanda, the capital city of Angola, for about six months when the main company I lived and worked with received its first visit from a ‘‘Western journalist.’’ Christine 1 reported on Angolan economic and political affairs for a major European news outlet, and when an anthropologist friend introduced me to her, she immediately expressed an interest in learning more Corresponding author: Cheryl Mei-ting Schmitz, NYU Shanghai, 1555 Century Avenue, Pudong District, Shanghai, 200122, People’s Republic of China. Email: cheryl.schmitz@nyu.edu 1 All personal names have been changed. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 2018, Vol. 27(1) 9–27 ! Scalabrini Migration Center 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/ journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0117196818760404 journals.sagepub.com/home/amj