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WEB EXCLUSIVE: What fuels China's Africa policy

Heidi Kingstone

Wednesday, 13th February 2008

Heidi Kingstone on the motivation behind China's relations with Africa

On issues of corruption the Chinese used to be non-committal. Recently, over the last year, they have started to turn up at international conferences to discuss ways of combating corruption. The Chinese are also criticized for not bringing skills into the countries, and for raping the continent of its resources. But the Chinese Export Import Bank has committed US$20 billion to Nigeria, Angola, and Ethiopia over three years for infrastructure projects. This is more than the World Bank will invest in the entire continent over the same period, which seems to counter the argument. The scale is breathtaking.

“The Chinese have a fairly mercantilist view,” says L. Alan Winters, Director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank and editor of ‘Dancing With Giants’ which explores China’s rapid and continuing growth. “They are happy to bring aid to Africa if it opens up market opportunities for them. China is more robust in dealing with African governments, less deferential
in terms of cultural sensitivities.”

China-watchers worry that the West looks at China through a Western prism, and not through the centuries of history that has formed the People’s Republic. The theory of a new colonialism, according to the Chinese, is deeply flawed on many levels, and far too simplistic. What China and Africa share is a huge imbalance of rich and poor. Outside of the glittering modern mega-cities of Beijing and Shanghai about 200 million people live on less than US$1.00 per day.

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David Parker

February 13th, 2008 6:51pm

I probably speak from a geriatric generation, however, it was once (as late as the 1970s) a publicly admitted objective of Chinese communist leaders, that their ultimate goal was the imposition of world wide Chinese political ideology. Needless to say, the nature of that ideology itself may have changed somewhat over the intervening years, but not their underlying ambition or determination. Unlike Western politicians or diplomats, most of whom are always loooking for a "quick resolution", the Chinese temperament tends, patiently, to favour the long term view, even if this may extend well beyond their own individual personal political influence or careers.