China Colonizing Africa?

12/30/2006

Is China Colonizing Africa?


William Gumede
Washington Post


Is China becoming Africa's new colonizer?


In what is reminiscent of a new scramble for Africa, China has rushed to plant its flag on the continent, offering soft credit, bricks and mortar investment and promising non-interference in local politics. China's political clout in Africa has never been greater.


But is this all too good to be true?


In November, China hosted an Africa summit in Beijing attended by 50 African leaders, the biggest showcase of China's new foreign policy shift towards the developing world, to expand its political reach and to secure raw materials to feed its rapidly growing economy. Beijing offered Africa US$3bn in preferential loans and US$2bn in export credits over the next three years. China envisaged annual trade with Africa to reach $100bn by 2010.


Whereas Western nations such as the US, France and UK have year-on-year slashed development aid, China promised to double aid by 2009. Most of the Chinese aid to Africa is tied to business deals. Nevertheless, China has offered aid without insisting on onerous conditions as Western donors do.


This is sweet music to African nations, who for long now have protested the hypocritical insistence by Western countries that they must open their markets, while they (Western nations) heavily subsidize their own agriculture sectors and maintain prohibitively high tariff barriers.


As a case in point, China early this year granted Nigeria a $2.5bn loan soft loan and the Angolan government $9bn.But China has offered many African despots, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe a lifeline. China has major investments in Sudan's oil-fields and fiercely supports the Sudanese regime which is responsible for an internal conflict that has seen millions perished and displaced. China worked effortlessly to water-down a United Nations resolution condemning the Sudan for the bloodshed in Darfur.


China accounts for 65% of all Sudanese oil exports and 35% of Angolan oil sold abroad. Again, the argument can be made that many Western nations are often quite happy to turn a blind-eye to allied undemocratic regimes, especially if there are Western oil interests to protect.


Most African economies are depended one or at least a few commodities. The Chinese dragon's big appetite for commodities has given some African economies a handy windfall. However, very few Africans have used the extra cash to diversify their economies. But to prosper, African nations need to diversify their economies as soon as possible. In fact, most of these rich returns from commodities appear to be pocketed by a handful of African ruling elites. China's strategy of making friendship by targeting leading members of African ruling parties have encouraged this trend. The easy money China dangles in return for oil or other commodities could foster corruption.


It is also true that China's interest in Africa has given African nations more options to negotiate better trade deals with Western competitors. In the past African countries had to accept the poor deals Western countries forced on them. In terms of global politics, many Africans do see China is potential ally in a world where African interests are either ignored or dismissed by the big powers. South African President Thabo Mbeki's says the continent has a "dire need for close friends, reliable partners and good brothers". http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1163161982436B251


However, China's public rhetoric of altruism masked a hard-nosed approach - and many Africans appear not to notice this. As a case in point, China in spite of its stated aims to make the UN more representative, has opposed the initiatives to secure a permanent seat for Africa on the UN Security Council. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=vn20050805063523423C706133


In Latin America, China similarly bestowed on Brazil favourite nation status. However, Brazilian soon discovered in spite of this their products faced huge tariff barriers in China. Furthermore, China promised to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Brazil. Predictably this was very slow to materialize. Another sticking point was that China insisted on bringing Chinese nationals as work crews, instead of transferring local skills. This is already a sore point across Africa. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw116124444127B251


Many African businesses complain Chinese companies dump cheap end of line stocks, often bypassing customs and import duties. Not only does this drive locals out of business, the cheap items are often of poor quality. The influx of cheap Chinese goods to Africa decimates the struggling local manufacturing industry. In South Africa, official figures shows that cheap Chinese textiles have led to the lost of at least 67 000 jobs the past 4 years. South African unions have lobbied the government who is busy negotiating a free trade deal with China to include clauses committing China to respect minimum labour, human rights and environmental standards.


Most African countries, just like South Africa export the capital-intensive commodities or raw materials that China hungers for, and import labour-intensive manufactured goods from China. So, the rise in exports to China typically generates few jobs, while imports from China take away jobs. If this continues, argues South African President Thabo Mbeki the African continent could be "condemned to underdevelopment", and "recolonisation". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6178897.stm


Africans should heed the warning.