China in Africa
africasia.com
China is not an ordinary nation. With a population of over 1.4 billion, China has been in existence for over 5,000 years and is the world’s oldest centralised state. Therefore discussing its relations with any region of the world, including Africa, should be done with great humility. In this comprehensive coverage, Adama Gaye discusses how Africa stands to gain from a strong, effective and balanced relationship with China. The Chinese resurgence in Africa is not only transforming the continent’s political, economic and social landscapes, but is sending nervous shivers into Western governments, hitherto the dominant forces in Africa. But the ball is now in Africa’s court – to fully embrace the new-kid-on-the-block, or hang on to friendships and policies by maintaining the status quo. This time, Africa needs to play its cards right.
China has surprised everyone. It has created a fait-accompli, not storming Africa as would have been expected from a dragon, but getting into it in a powerful but cautious way. The world woke up in 2006 to face the extent of China’s return to a continent it had virtually deserted for some years. Its resurgence in Africa even caught its traditional Western protagonists off-guard and they are worried – with good reason. China’s money flowing into Africa is a clear and significant sign of its determination to meet words with deeds on the continent. A symbolic signal in this regard is the fact that in 2007, with over US$9bn worth of investment, it dwarfed the World Bank’s money flow into Africa, and the Bank, unable to inject more than $2.5bn into the continent, is now, bowl in hand, persuading Beijing to partner with it in financing African projects – so far to no avail. When one takes into account the huge foreign reserves, now estimated at $1.5 trillion, that it has built as a result of an effective export strategy and the establishment of a sovereign fund – China Investment Corporation – endowed with $200bn, one can easily expect China to be more than ever the most dominant player in a continent that needs financial resources, which China is ready to provide without conditionalities. |
