China and Africa

There is hardly any way one can escape hearing about China these days. I have not written anything about Sino-African relations simply because I was not willing to take a side in the debate on whether the effects of Chinese interests in Africa are positive or not.

Arguments and all
A main argument of those who are against the way China does business in Africa – and a plausible one at that – is that Chinese money has made those who were pushing some African countries to do better on human rights and governance issues to re-consider doing so. The simple reason being that China’s ‘no strings attached’ policy means that Chinese business interests are not coloured with any desire to change the way African governments run their countries. The effect of this is that many countries that see that sanctions which are imposed against African countries do not really deprive the countries of funds are re-thinking the wisdom of depriving themselves of raw materials. What is the point when money comes from China anyway?

Another important point is that when Chinese companies do business in Africa they ship in about everybody they need to work on the projects from China. A case in point is that of railway constructions in Angola, a country that suffers from serious unemployment. The BBC reports popular discussions by Angolans that the Chinese workers are nothing other than prisoners, especially because they never leave their camps. When asked why his company does not employ Angolans, a Chinese factory owner in Luanda says, ‘African people, they dont like work too much, they like relax’. He goes on to say that his workers work for ten hours a day, while Angolans work for only eight. I find the racist-tinged comments of the factory owner distateful, but I find it even more distateful that the government did not make any quota agreements about employing Angolans when signing agreements with the Chinese companies. The money paid out to governments by Chinese companies is not for development – anybody who has followed the discourse on aid knows that much; the stuff of development is employment. It is when people have the dignity of earning their own wages, of being able to provide for their families, that one thinks about development. It is extremely dissatifying to note that Chinese companies are allowed to bring in their labour from China, even the unskilled ones.

On Western tables
The reaction of Western countries to these new Sino-African relations are, at best, an expression of frustration at the lack of concern of China in the politics of the countries with whom they deal, and at worst, apprehensions that China is getting much stronger than they ever thought. One would not be surprised at the latter when one realised that China is expanding its army, especially the navy, has launched a lunar-probe mission, and that it might soon want to reclaim Taiwan. All these on the same plate make for an unsavoury meal on a Western dinner table.

Aint no stopping China now
One cannot really expect much of a change in Chinese activities in Africa, afterall China’s growth, which feeds much of the worlds appetite for cheap good quality goods, has to continue to be fuelled by raw materials. What one would hope for is that African governments are smart enough to get better deals for their ciizens. But then, this assumes that the people who run the governments consider the interest of the citizens. This is one issue in which one has to hope for the best; and patiently wait and react to each situation as it arises. General statements that are couched in moralistic terms confuse much more than the sentiments that back them might intend.

For more resources on China see here, here, here and here. My interests in BBC documentaries must be pretty much obvious by now.