China Africa relations – 60 years after Bandung By Chua Chin Leng (chinadaily.com.cn)Updated: 2015-12-02 08:13
President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma attend a bilateral signing ceremony in Beijing on Dec 4, 2014. China and South Africa signed 11 agreements. PHOTO BY WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY
After two centuries of colonization and exploitation by European colonialists, African nations regained their independence from Western domination after World War II. The new nations gathered at Bandung, Indonesia in 1955 to inaugurate the Non Aligned Movement of newly independent and developing countries of the world. Sixty years forward, individual Asian and African countries took separate paths towards social, economic and political development. All the countries of the Non Aligned Movements are still developing nations but at different level of success.
China has returned to Africa over the last few decades to trade and invest in the continent. China brought along technology and finance to develop the infrastructure, manufacturing and mining industries in the African countries in exchange for natural resources. The Chinese development projects cost a fraction of those offered by the Western countries and were attractively packaged with soft loans and terms that were freely negotiated by the governments on a willing buyer and seller basis and on fair and equitable terms for both parties, unlike during colonial days. The African countries have enjoyed a good era of peace and economic growth with Chinese technology and soft loans.
President Xi Jinping and his entourage, including the commerce minister, trade representatives and private corporations, are visiting Africa, meeting good friends in Zimbabwe prior to attending a China-Africa Summit. President Xi's delegation is arriving with promises of closer economic cooperation and strengthening relations with the African states.
China has a lot to offer the African countries. According to Vice-Commerce Minister Qian Keming, "China will help African countries to upgrade their industrial systems and structure, safeguard food security and to build infrastructure". And "Chinese companies will exhibit their competence in railways, aviation, electricity, telecom, machinery and smart manufacturing, (and)…To finance bilateral cooperation, China will set up funds and give African countries more low-interest bank loans."
Sixty years after the Bandung Conference, China is now in a better position to help the African countries with financing, technology and know-how to bring their countries to a higher level of economic development that the West failed to do so for centuries. China's assistance and foreign aid are strictly commercial, with no interference in the domestic politics of the African countries.
Against the negative Western narratives of exploitation, China's investments, developments and assistance to the African nation states are viewed very positively and welcomed by the African governments. How can there be exploitation when both parties negotiated on an equal partner basis on terms they mutually agreed to with no coercion? China will stick to its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and will strictly stick to trade and development. Many of the African states have developed very close relations with China since post-independence and will continue to favor Chinese aid and economic relations. Many trade deals and investment projects will be signed during this trip by President Xi and his trade delegation.
China's relations with the African states have reached another level of sophistication, maturity and stability and will move to a higher plane after this summit with the African leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa. China has the blueprints for economic and infrastructure development and could share its expertise with the African nations. And with technology and financing, China could raise the quality of life of the African nations to become rich and prosperous developed nations of the 21st Century.
The author is a political observer from Singapore.
Aiyo RB, how come your article so one sided one? You mean nothing negative at all in China African relations and all is fine?
ReplyDeleteIf not, at least say something and make the article more balanced lah.
Or else you sound more like those MSM journalists writing about our govt and PAP.
RB, your font size on your blog seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Have a thought for uncle and auntie readers who are lao hua yan.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies. I always keep it at normal. Somehow it keeps going to small. Now I have put it to large. Wondering if there is some mischief to keep distorting what I post.
ReplyDeleteMy post is not one sided. It is because you are used to reading the shit from western media that are biased and with an agenda to rubbish everything China did. For 2 centuries they have colonised and plundered the African states and their colonies all over the world. And if you read the western media, they will say China is exploiting the African states for their resources. Unthinking and shallow people will take it at face value and the message sunk into their psychic.
How could China exploit the Africans for their resources when the agreements were signed after tough negotiations? China did not come with a gun. The West did and looted their resources for free. Thailand and Asean refused to sign agreements with China when they don't agree with the terms. The leaders of the developing nations are not stupid today and China cannot force them into any agreements if they don't think is fair.
When Mugabe was asked if the Chinese were exploiting the African states, his answer, "Utter rubbish!'. It was the West that were exploiting the Africans states, robbed them of their resources and everything for a song.
This is the 21st century. Try to go to Africa and cheat them if you can. China is offering them the best terms they could get, technology and soft financing they could not get anywhere. And even transfer of technology. You think the Africans are idiots?
Ask why the Africans did not go to the West?
Damn those African leaders look like they are lining up to take it in the arse from Xi. But Chinese dick should go in easier compared to decades and centuries of whitey dick
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese have been economically active in Africa for quite some time now, but it's not until recently when China announced an additional $60 billion investment that this has been widely known, let alone ACCEPTED.
ReplyDeleteThe children of many of my African friends learn Mandarin in school. Those in university/ tertiary courses have plans of leaving Australia to go to Africa in the hope of "getting in early at the ground floor". There is little doubt that even given the corruption and occasional tribal warfare, Africa---or parts of Africa---are going to BOOM.
For e.g.: there are 53-54 sovereign states in Africa (cuntrees). However there are only 29 stock exchanges. So there's plenty of scope there alone.
When Mugabe was asked if the Chinese were exploiting the African states, his answer, "Utter rubbish!'.
ReplyDeleteRB 10:20 am
Aiyo RB, of all African leaders you choose to quote Mugabe.
Makes me wonder whether I should take your post with a pinch of salt.
You don't eat too much kantang and think tapioca and sweet potato are bad.
ReplyDeleteMugabe is the longest ruling leader in Africa.
Mugabe is the longest ruling leader in Africa.
ReplyDeleteRB 2:01 pm
Tiok. But Mugabe is also the leader of Zimbabwe. You never heard the story about the Zimbabwean dollar meh?
If you have heard, I doubt you would even want to mention about Mugabe, even if you don't eat kantang.
China is on the right direction. To bring life back to africa and her people, one must understand water very well. Only the chinese, so far, can master that art. So long as those african leaders do not get corrupted by the global elites, there will be hope for those poor people to get better lives with china help.
ReplyDeleteMany of the African nations are developing and needed help. If China is not going to help them, who would? The West would be happy to go there and sell arms.
ReplyDeleteChina certainly isn't a charity or even interested in improving Africans lives. These statements are all PR stunts spoken by China officials and repeated by media mouthpieces paid by China propaganda apparatus. What China is interested in is what all other countries, including S'pore & western countries, are interested in --- to further your own country's interests and advantage. In this Africa-China thing, China is merely interested in getting its hands on tons of natural resources, rare earth minerals, uranium, copper, gold, diamonds, oil, gas, etc at a cheap or very competitive prices. At the end of the day, the only people who will benefit from all these Chinese "investments" will be the African rulers/warlords/govt officials/senior civil servants, China senior govt officials, and China/African businessmen plus a few senior executives of the various companies.
ReplyDeleteIsn't JayF the trouble maker who was the troll and impostor who harassed female netizens in blogs and forums some time back? Looks like he's up to mischief again.
ReplyDeletechina president is making a big visit to african continent
ReplyDeleteWestern mouthpiece are busy printing anti china propaganda about their investment, activity in African.
1. alleging china racism against black people - STAR WAR POSTER
2. in Nigeria, Chinese Investment Comes With a Downside - new york times
As usual, those article contain many baseless allegation against china .
Anon 6:28,
ReplyDeleteSo China must go to Africa like Santa Claus give them everything for free?
Which father of yours will do that to the Africans for free?
You are just a dumb ass.
China will get the resources, the Africans will get the infrastructures and equipment and factories. What is wrong with that?