| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 7,000[1] (2010 estimate) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Chinese |
The number of Chinese residents in Uganda has rapidly expanded in the 2000s along with the rise of trade ties.[2]
The rapid expansions in trade relations begins in 2005 when Chinese investments in Uganda only included a hotel and restaurant. By 2010, China's investments shot up so much that it ranked second to the United Kingdom.[2]
The biggest Chinese employer in Uganda is Zhang Hao, a native of Shenyang, who arrived in 1999 and started an import business that grew to an enterprise encompassing a restaurant, bakery, firm selling flat-screen televisions and security company.[citation needed]
However the increased trade and number of residents has caused a backlash. The influx of shopkeepers from China has caused consternation among Ugandans who compete in retail. In July 2011, Ugandan shopkeepers in Kampala ordered a work stoppage to protest against rising prices, an unstable exchange rate, and a flood of competition by Chinese and Indian traders.[3] The organizers of the strike, the Kampala City Traders Association, named "aliens doing petty trade, especially the Chinese" as a source of concern.[3]
Other areas of trade include construction of buildings, fiber optics, and a road. Projects being built by the Chinese government include "a hospital in Kampala, an agricultural demonstration center, and a government office block building."[2]
Chinese investors founded the China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce in Uganda in March 2009 a trade organization composed of over 30 firms.