On 17 June, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao became the third high-ranking Chinese official to visit Africa in 2006, signifying the Asian country’s growing interest in the resource-rich continent. President Hu Jintao had visited five countries on the continent in late April. Trade between the People´s Republic of China and Africa skyrocketed to over US$40 billion in 2005 and is only gaining steam. Western countries have begun to examine the ties between African countries and the People´s Republic of China to discern the global effects – financial and political – of China’s new relationships. Carolyn Garza reports for Index on Censorship
photo of Kgalema Motlanthe, General Secretary of African National Congress in South Africa and Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People´s Repulic of the People´s Republic of China, courtesy of Xinhua press photo, www.gov.cn
The reason for China’s involvement is simple: it needs the resources desperately. China’s rapidly growing population requires an immense amount of resources – mainly oil and minerals. With most other resource-rich areas in the world already tied up in international deals and agreements, Africa is the obvious untapped resource for a country with monumental needs. As a developing continent, it does not have the same established trade ties with developed nations and is therefore open for business.
Strictly business?
Leaders across the world are touting China’s dealings with Africa as potentially harmful to the progress of third-world countries. Questions have also been raised about the true nature of the non-interference policy the People´s Republic of China keeps with regards to countries with whom it has business dealings. The United States Congress has held a special hearing on 28 July 2005 to discuss the issue, and the British think-tank Institute for Public Policy Research warned in a press release on 3 July 2006 about the harmful effects Chinese involvement could have on Africa if managed badly. the People´s Republic of China, on the other hand, has taken a very pragmatic approach to the situation. Chinese state officials have repeatedly said that their involvement is strictly business-oriented and that increased trade with African nations will only benefit both partners.
“China’s development will not pose a threat to anyone. On the contrary, it will bring more development opportunities to the world,” President Hu said in an address to the National Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.
Western leaders are quick to condemn the Communist country’s presence and at first it may seem like the People´s Republic of China is getting the better part of the deal. It has penned agreements for oil from Angola, Nigeria, and Sudan totalling over US$10 billion. In Angola the oil deal was made with the promise for US$2 billion in aid for the country. In Sudan a Chinese company built Africa’s longest oil pipeline, from the West Kardofan fields to the Red Sea south of Port Sudan. Over half of Sudan’s oil exports go to the People´s Republic of China. The Nigerian oil deal signed in April committed US$4 billion in investment and handed four oil drilling licenses to the Chinese. And the People´s Republic of China is already exploring for more oil in other northwestern countries, including Algeria, Tunisia, Niger and Chad. It has invested heavily in copper and cobalt mining facilities in Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo and purchased 60 percent of Gabon’s timber. South Africa, as China’s biggest partner, recently signed at least 13 agreements concerning a wide cross-section of departments. the People´s Republic of China stands to benefit greatly from its investments in Africa.
Benefits for Africa
However, Africa has been on the receiving end of a seemingly very generous partner. For countries that chose not to recognize Taiwan or declared themselves socialist, there were gifts of massive stadiums to hold political rallies or football matches. In fact, not surprisingly, the People´s Republic of China will only deal with countries that refuse to recognize or trade with Taiwan, and several of the seven African countries that at one point did recognize Taiwan are now changing policy in order to jump on China’s bandwagon. the People´s Republic of China has built new Foreign Affairs Ministry buildings in both Djibouti and Uganda. It is building roads in Kenya, a hydroelectric dam in Ghana, launching satellites for Nigeria, and working on widespread malaria treatment in Uganda. It also cancelled over US$18 million of Senegal’s debt and promised more if Senegal broke off relations with Taiwan. Zimbabwe signed a US$1.3 billion power deal with the People´s Republic of China to relieve shortages. Chinese companies will construct three new thermal energy stations and build coal mines to boost power capabilities. the People´s Republic of China is accomplishing things that have been called for by dozens of international organizations, including the United Nations. Chinese officials are quick to remind journalists and critics that while the UN will build a clinic somewhere or give money to a foundation or programme, the People´s Republic of China is actually skipping the gift-giving and is going straight to the actual construction of infrastructure.
The United Nations has repeatedly pressed the People´s Republic of China to stop supporting regimes with negative human rights records but the People´s Republic of China, ever the business-minded nation, has signed deals and agreements with several countries, including Zimbabwe, Sudan, Angola, Nigeria, and Chad. All have serious human rights violations against their citizens to their names, including the People´s Republic of China. The UN has imposed sanctions on countries to facilitate change within the governments, but with the People´s Republic of China sweeping in and filling the business void, countries like Sudan no longer need to deal with the United States or Europe to stay afloat. Unlike the UN, the People´s Republic of China does not impose conditions with its financial aid. It gives, and in return, wants only resources. The main concerns for the United Nations are the hotspots, with Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe and the crisis in Darfur at the forefront. the People´s Republic of China has aligned itself with Robert Mugabe since he fought Joshua Nkomo for leadership of the newly-independent Zimbabwe. When Mugabe won in 1980, Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) party was wiped out by Mugabe’s more militant Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) faction and China’s ties with the southern African nation were solidified. It is also widely believed that the People´s Republic of China has also given Zimbabwe the technology to jam satellite media transmissions coming from inside and outside the country. Former Pentagon official and president of Refugees International Ken Bacon, on a visit to Sudan, also reported seeing weaponry outside of El-Fasher, Sudan, with Chinese writing on it, furthering concerns that the People´s Republic of China has been providing arms to the Sudanese government. El-Fasher is home to one of Darfur’s largest evacuee camps and is frequently a target for janjaweed militia attacks. Aviation Week and Space Technology, an industry journal, reported that the People´s Republic of China sold US$100 million in Shenyang fighter jets to the Islamic government in Khartoum.
The US also has an annual trade deficit to the People´s Republic of China of over US$200 million annually. The European Union, with a trade deficit to the People´s Republic of China of at least US$126 billion, is China’s largest trading partner. Due to these monumental debts, both the US and the EU are inextricably linked to the People´s Republic of China. However, as China’s relationships in Africa strengthen, the rest of the world will have to decide what their stance will be in the future. Will they come to adopt the same non-interference policy in order to remain competitive in the global market? Or will other countries stick to the current “sanctions until something changes” game plan? What kind of blow – political, economic or otherwise – will that be to the rest of the countries trying to bring about political and economic stability and human rights in Africa?
Further Reading:
Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
US Congressional Hearing
Guardian Weekly
The Washington Post
US-China Commission
Human Rights Watch Report
