China, the white knight in Africa

After 500 years of colonization, exploitation and oppression, the Europeans left the African continent broken, barren, bankrupt, poor and underdeveloped. The European patted their backsides and simply walked away from Africa leaving every African country in ruins and in poverty. The African countries needed help, needed financial aid, technology, education and infrastructures to grow and progress. The western controlled banks and agencies, like IMF and World Bank’s response is that these countries are too poor to service their loans, they have no money to pay back. No money means no loan. Period. They would not give bad loans to poor African countries, made poor by them.
 
So, what is the choice for Africa when their former colonial masters wrote them off as poor and bad credit risk and do not deserve to be given loans? Without loans and financing the African countries can’t rebuild themselves. Their former colonial masters did not care, your poverty is not their problem. Show me you can pay back your loans or else no loans. The African countries were thus stuck in between the devil and the deep blue sea. They want economic growth, they need infrastructures, investments, factories, jobs, but without money, they could do nothing other than remain barren and poor and undeveloped countries.
 
While the Europeans, the ex colonial masters that robbed them sneered at the poor African countries, ignored their pleas for help, financial, social, economic and technology, China stepped in. China offered these countries all they needed with no strings attached, no political blackmail, no interference in their domestic affairs, no regime change, just pure business transactions. China offered the African countries cheap loans, sometimes interest free, to rebuild the African countries, investments and infrastructure developments, for a small fee. China is not a rich country, not the former colonial masters that robbed these countries and thus has no obligation to be Santa Claus. China came to trade, to help, to do business and needs to be paid. Fair? When the former colonial masters that robbed these countries refused to lift a finger, China was there in times of need.
 
The African leaders are not stupid. They saw a white knight that was willing to work with them, to invest in their countries, provide aids and technology, why not? And the loans were cheaper than those provided by the IMF or World Bank, banks that would not even want to talk to them. There was a willing buyer and a willing seller, both came together with their eyes open, negotiated the best deals they could, signed on the dotted line without a gun on their heads, to develop the African countries. Most of the African countries are now progressing very well and moving up the economic ladder. There were jobs for their people, investments, more wealth and development, better infrastructures and connectivity by rail and road, life is certainly better every day.
 
What went wrong, or anything went wrong? Sure, some of the deals did not turn out as expected. A few deals went bad due to miscalculation and some due to poor leadership and corruption. But the majority of the deals were big successes. If not, China would be kicked out of Africa, would not be welcomed even for a day longer. The African countries would be waiting at the doors of their former colonial masters begging for mercy if China did not lend a helping hand.
 
What went wrong? The West, out of envy and mischief, started to bad mouth China and its investments in Africa. The standard smears include non transparency, bad debt, China is there for the minerals, in other words China is in Africa to cheat the Africans and the African leaders are so stupid that they did not know they were being cheated and keep going to China to ask for more. How valid are these smears and white lies?
 
No transparency? The whites are saying that the African leaders signed all the deals without knowing what they were signing, all blind or ignorant fools? This is not the days of colonialism or white supremacy when the Africans had their hands tied or chained and forced to sign away their countries and resources. The African countries are independent countries and their leaders are educated elites of their respective countries. There would be some bad hats for sure. But generally these are responsible good men and women running their countries and would want the best for their people and countries. They would not be so foolish to sign away their countries when there is no transparency. Period.
 
Oh, China did not do it out of good will. China was there for the natural resources. What is wrong with that? The African countries have no money, anything worthy had been stolen or looted from them by their colonial masters. And the former colonial masters knew the African countries have nothing left to be taken, or else they would not have left Africa. And this is also the reason why they refused to lend the African countries money to rebuild themselves. When offered funds and aids and technology for the minerals. The ex colonial masters, the people that are criticizing China, came and took the minerals for free!
 
China is helping the African countries to develop their economies and infrastructure and it is only rightful and fair that the Africans find ways to pay for them. And China even had to move in with their equipment to extract the minerals so that they could be paid. Anything wrong? It is fair trade, barter trade of sort. The white lies said this is bad. China is exploiting the African resources. Really? Why don’t the West do the same if they are so kind and sincere? No, they would want to take the minerals without paying like they did in the past or in exchange for weapons of war.
 
What about bad debts, debt traps? How many hundreds or thousands of projects were there in Africa and how many turned bad? Sri Lanka’s Hantambota port now under China control for 99 years? Did the accusers know the deal, how the port was eventually leased to China, what were the favourable terms offered to the Sri Lankan govt that they found it a fair deal? All the hyping of bad debt by the whites is simply white lies to create mischief and mistrust between the African countries and China.
 
If China is really the predator and exploiter of African countries, it does not need to take one year before the whole of Africa turned against China. But they are the best of pals, with many new projects and loans being signed everyday. What do these said about non transparency, exploitation and debt trap? Bull.
 
The good relations between China and the host of African countries and the numerous projects in progress and more coming on stream speak for themselves. China is doing the right thing, the things that the African countries wanted and the African countries appreciate and are grateful to China for lending a helping hand when their evil colonial masters turned them away to rot and die by not helping and not willing to lend them the funds they needed.
 
White lies are white lies and only the stupid would believe in them.
 
China has been in Africa and in Central Asia for decades and there is peace in these countries. Look at the countries where the Americans are there, peace or at war or at various stages of war? Who is the real trouble maker?
 
Sri Lanka, a Buddhist majority country, Christians and Muslims are minorities and living in peace. Why out of the blue the Muslims attacked the Christians? Who would benefit from a destabilized Sri Lanka? Who would want to see Sri Lanka turned into a war zone? China is a big investor in Sri Lanka and would stand to lose if the country is at war. Same as in Venezuela.
 
If China did not become the white knight in Africa, remove China from Africa, what would happen to Africa? Removing China from Africa means removing the hundreds of billions of dollars China poured into Africa building infrastructures and factories and homes.
 
The western countries are avoiding Africa like a leech, a disease.
Another mischievous white narrative is that China is attempting to colonise Africa. It is this kind of white lies they are spreading to create fears in the unthinking to smear China. But many sillies would happily parrot it when they open their mouths, especially the banana reporters in Asia.