China’s growing involvement in Africa has been actively commented upon over the last few years. A late comer to Africa, Beijing is now making strategic trade deals throughout the continent. Trade between China and Africa has quadrupled since the beginning of the last decade. Like the former colonial countries China backs its trading relations with aid, debt relief, scholarships, training and the provision of specialists.
Western donors condemn Beijing’s allegedly care -free approach to investing in countries such as Sudan with bad human rights records. Such objections are overdone. They are often disingenuous. China is no philanthropist, but its rise may still represent Africa’s best hope of escaping poverty. In the 8 years to 2007, before the financial crisis, African countries were growing, on average, by more than 4% a year, far higher than previously. That was thanks partly to better economic management, debt relief and increased capital flows (some from China), but also to the higher commodity prices driven by Chinese demand.
China’s pragmatism may produce better results according to David Pilling, Asia editor of the Financial Times, in his article “Africa is getting a better deal from Beijing”. According to Pilling, here are a few reasons why.
First, an emphasis on infrastructure means that, even if deals are corroded by corruption, at least the recipient country ends up with a road, port or hospital. Second, China’s approach is built on trade. It is argued that genuine business opportunity is more likely to catalyze development than government-to-government aid. Third, and crucially, China is not alone in seeking opportunities on the continent. As well as the west, India, Brazil and Russia are also vying for business. That ought to give resource-rich African countries the ability to bargain for better terms, though of course there is no guarantee that increased funds will not simply line bigger pockets.
It would be wrong to be wide-eyed about China’s investments. Some Chinese businesses are rightly condemned for lax safety standards and for shunning African labor. Critics say that Chinese money has awakened unscrupulous regimes in Khartoum and Harare. Yet China is hardly alone in dealing with thieves and villains. Whatever its side-effects, a scramble to invest in Africa has got to be better than the European precedent; a scramble to carve it up.
[Article compiled from the Financial Times]