China in Africa: boon or burden? Boon, of course!
China in Africa: boon or burden?
05 Nov 2006 02:47:12 GMT
Source: Reuters By Lindsay Beck
BEIJING, Nov 5 (Reuters) - When workers rioted at a Chinese-owned copper mine in Zambia, it symbolised the worst of China's deepening relationship with Africa.
China, it seemed, was going after the continent's natural resources to feed its own booming economy, handing out grants and loans to ease entry for its companies and blind to standards of human rights and governance.
But as Beijing hosts 48 African leaders for a summit aimed at deepening trade and political ties, both the best and worst of its engagement are on display: investment that is fuelling the highest growth in decades in parts of Africa, but also its friendship with countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan.
Critics say China has ignored corruption and rights abuses and undermined international efforts to isolate rogue regimes.
However, analysts also say China's investment is giving a much-needed boost to African economies otherwise largely ignored by Western investors.
"Unlike some other countries, China is working to help Africa restore infrastructure, such as roads and bridges destroyed by wars. Those are essential for the entire economic recovery," said Chu Tianshu, a development economist at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu.
In Angola, ravaged by three decades of civil war, China was criticised after Luanda turned down an IMF loan in favour of a package of oil-backed loans and credit from Beijing worth more than $3 billion that came with far fewer strings attached.
But while it let Angola escape IMF monitoring intended to curb graft, China was also praised for tackling reconstruction needs in a country few other investors would touch.
"They were the only ones on the horizon that were willing to come in," Paul Hare, head of the U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce, said at an American Enterprise Institute event in Washington.
The pay-off for China? Angola this year surpassed Saudi Arabia to become its largest supplier of crude oil.
RESPONDING TO CONCERNS
There also are signs that China's engagement in Africa is beginning to respond to local concerns.
China pledged to voluntarily cap clothing exports to South Africa amid fears its goods were stifling local industry, and in the face of criticism that its projects were staffed only with Chinese workers, it is beginning to hire more nationals.
Then there was the mining unrest in Zambia.
"Zambia was a big wake-up," said Chris Alden of the London School of Economic and Political Science.
"Where African leaders take these issues to the Chinese and do so emphatically, I think the Chinese have demonstrated generally that they've been pretty responsive," he said.
In an interview with China's official Xinhua news agency, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan recognised the concerns.
"China appreciates the concern of some African countries on trade deficits and textiles and is taking measures and working with the countries concerned to resolve them," he said.
But he also stressed the growing export market for Africa that China's boom has created.
Rights groups counter that China's engagement with any and all is preventing the development of better governance in Africa.
"Africans do not need another external power enabling abusive regimes -- they need all powers, including China, to place human rights at the centre of their policies," Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
Particularly scrutinised has been China's relationship with Sudan, from which it imported more than 14 million barrels of oil this year, and to which it sells arms that activists say are fuelling the conflict in Darfur.
But analysts also point out that China has been shut out of legitimate oil deals elsewhere, citing political opposition that forced state-owned oil giant CNOOC to withdraw a bid to buy U.S. producer Unocal.
BIGGER PIE
Still others argue that China's engagement is not feeding Africa's growth, but threatening it with loans that could undermine recent debt forgiveness and investments that contribute to environmental destruction and poor labour standards.
For African leaders themselves, China, which in 30 years grew from a poor, isolated state into the world's fourth-largest economy, is an inspiring model.
"The idea is that we share something with China and not with our other partners -- not with the United States, not with Japan -- which is the fact that we belong to the same group of countries, developing countries," said Aly Houssam el-Hefny, Egypt's ambassador to China.
And with trade between Africa and China projected at $50 billion this year, up from about $11 billion in 2000, there are bound to be rewards for the continent's economies.
"It's like trade between any two trading partners -- some industries are going to expand and some will shrink," said Chu, the development economist.
But, she added: "Overall, the pie is getting bigger." (Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington and Ben Blanchard in Beijing) |
