China-Africa

10 Key excerpts on "China-Africa"

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  African-Asian Relations: Past, Present, Future

  • (Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • LIT Verlag

    (Publisher)

  4 Africa and China: Still Geographically Distant, Yet Increasingly Linked through the Belt and Road Initiative W. Travis Selmier II China has had millennia of contact with the rest of Asia, while Sino-Sub- Saharan history is episodic and comparatively short due to: 1, maritime distance, 2, Chinese and African focus on their respective continents with their respective land-based enemies, and 3, China’s historic position as the center of global economics, receiving tribute from the periphery rather than reaching out. But, since establishment of the People's Republic of China [PRC], Sino-African ties have developed through mutual political support, rapidly growing economic relationships, and similar experiences as devel- oping regions. Rapidly developing economic ties between China and many Sub-Saharan Africa [SSA] countries are as complex as the continent itself: SSA country-size, state of development, presence of natural resources, geo- graphic location, complex national social characteristics and history with China each has impacts. Different Chinese actors—national government, private and state-owned enterprises [SOEs], and individual Chinese entre- preneurs—further condition Sino-African economic ties and influence the success of Belt and Road Initiative projects [BRI]. Sino-African Relationships: Economic, and Conditioned by Similar Experiences Looking at space, the West (especially European countries) is only separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. European scholars of Africa I am acquainted with make casual remarks about going to conduct research in Africa as if doing so were as easy as taking a stroll through your backyard. In contrast, a vast distance separates China and Africa. Wenping He 1 Noted Chinese scholar of Africa Wenping He summed up millennia of Sino- African history in her 2010 comment. While Chinese contact with the rest of Asia 1 2010, translation by The China Africa Project.

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  The Sino-African Partnership

  A Geopolitical Economy Approach

  • Earl Conteh-Morgan(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Peter Lang Group

    (Publisher)

  · 3 · GEOPOLITICAL - ECONOMIC DYNAMISM AND NEXUS OF CHINA ’ S ENGAGEMENT IN AFRICA The analysis in this book is predicated on the argument that economic global- ization imperative is in fact the manifestation of economic interests as high politics and political-ideological factors as low politics. In other words, and in language of radical political economy, a “geo-economic imperative” is largely what shapes China’s Africa policy. In order for China to satisfy its economic globalization imperative it engages specific African countries as avenues to expand trade, investment capital flows and production in general. This spatial expansion of capitalist processes is what Harvey refers to as the geographic and spatial expansion of capitalist activities, in particular trade, investment, production, markets, in new geographic locations. 1 The use of geopolitics underscores the physical spread of economic activ- ities, whereas geo-economics refers to the marked dominance of economic activities over political-ideological activities in Sino-African relations. Geo-economics by itself has been used to refer to the greater significance of economics over politics in interstate relations. 2 Geo-economics, according to geographers, refers to the natural resources within a specific region and the political dynamics involved in the control and exploitation of such resources; the discourse surrounding the economic imperatives of the world economy; and the sum total of the political economy of commercial transactions (aid, trade, investments) across states. 3 46 the sino-african partnership In this chapter, the focus is on the political-economic significance of, including the why and how of China’s involvement in Africa.

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  Development Perspectives from the South

  Troubling the Metrics of [Under-]development in Africa

  • Munyaradzi Mawere(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Langaa RPCIG

    (Publisher)

  Second, the need to sustain access to the African continent’s rich natural resources. Third, the need to make inroads into an African market of over a billion people that is expanding rapidly. Fourth, the need to enhance its own political legitimacy and standing in Africa 400 on the basis of the one China policy in an attempt to marginalise the Taiwan dilemma. Fifth, to craft new axes for South-South Cooperation, with Africa as one of the key pillars of forces in building a bloc under the championship of China within the calculation of a global political balance. Sixthly, from a strategic perspective, it is important to note that China sees Africa as a strategically important force in its global policy. This has however met some mixed feelings in academic circles with some critics arguing that China’s primary motive in Africa is to siphon or plunder Africa’s natural endowments especially resources oil and other minerals in order to feed its growing economy, and challenge the global power of the United States in Africa. This resonates with Mawere (2014:142) who laments that “a relationship where one exports only finished goods while importing only raw materials from the same trading partner is exploitative.” As Mawere went on to note, “it is exploitative because finished products are always more expensive than unfinished goods or raw materials”. Looking at the characteristics of the relationships, the Africa-China relationships have entered into a new area of development beginning 1990s with significant consequences for both sides. There is no colonial history between the two and no psychological bias against each other. Politically, Africa sees an opportunity to build an alliance with a growing world power which can support and advocate the African agenda on international scene. For China it sees an opportunity to obtain an African alliance for legitimacy of its global influence as a growing power.

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  Africa and the New World Era

  From Humanitarianism to a Strategic View

  • J. Mangala(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  26 If Africa is contextualized in China’s wider scheme of foreign policy concerns, however, the continent is less significant in China’s hierarchy of global concerns or overall economic relations. At the same time it is important to underline that Africa remains important for China, and not merely in terms of resource extraction interests or business opportunities. China’s efforts to build a strategic partnership with Africa form one pillar in Beijing’s global foreign pol- icy strategy and vision for the international system. Africa is thus integral to Beijing’s strategic ambition to advance a “new security concept” that can ensure China’s “peace- ful rise” as a global power and strengthen its relations with key neighbors and regions. More concretely, through its global approach, the Chinese government seeks to sustain development and political stability in China, legitimise the benefits of China’s rise in Africa and the world and achieve a multipolar, equitable, and more democratic inter- national system. In this respect, China’s strategic partnership with Africa represents one regional pillar of a broader strategy to promote multipolarity and ensure regional and international balance of power, within which China’s relation with the United States categorically forms its most important, defining relation. 27 Governance questions have been salient in causing controversy. Widely fingered as having a uniquely negative impact on African governance, a profusion of liberal discourses reacted with concern about China’s deleterious political impact. Despite the binary language frequently used to address the issue (“threat or opportunity,” “partner or predator”), this is not a zero-sum question. Nor can China be used as the sole, convenient explanation of choice.

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  China's Resource Diplomacy in Africa

  Powering Development?

  • M. Power, G. Mohan, M. Tan-Mullins(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Overall the chapter insists on the importance of understanding contemporary China–Africa rela- tions in historical context and explains how past experiences of part- nership and cooperation are shaping current trends. In particular the chapter seeks to explore the ideological uses to which the history of China–Africa relations is put in the contemporary era and seeks to ask why China’s own articulation of the principles by which it lives in general and towards Africa in particular have been so remarkably consistent for the past 50 years. China in Africa, Africa in China: initial encounters There are indications that the indirect exchange of products between China and Africa could go back two thousand years as Chinese offi- cials were sent to and visited Africa and an African magician 1 came to China, thus starting the earliest human contact between the two conti- nents (Jinyuan 1984). According to Basil Davidson (1959: 158) ‘Chinese goods were certainly reaching the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, by 30 China’s Resource Diplomacy in Africa the sea routes, as early as the beginning of the Christian era’. By the tenth and eleventh centuries Arab reports and Chinese trade figures indicate that large quantities of African products were reaching China. East African ivory was prominent in this trade along with other prod- ucts that were attractive for medicinal purposes. During China’s Sung Dynasty (960–1279) China’s agriculture, commerce and handicraft industry, which included iron-smelting, porcelain-making and ship- building, advanced significantly and thus trade between China and foreign countries as far as Persia and Arabia and even Africa became more frequent and increased in scale (Jinyuan 1984). With the devel- opment of trade, China’s knowledge about Africa also increased.

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  China's Trade and Investment in Africa

  Impact on Development, Employment Generation & Transfer of Technology

  • Alpha Furbell Lisimba(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  The timing was in China’s favour, since Western countries’ involvement in Africa had been declining during the late 1980s and the 1990s. The relationship between Africa and China was again consolidated based on the understanding of the four principles of respect, non-interference, peaceful coexistence and mutual benefits (Tjønneland et al. 2006). China agreed to support African economic development by increasing aid and expanding trade and foreign direct investment. In return, African countries pledged to support China in Tiananmen Square as well as the Taiwan issue (Shelton 2007). Since the end of 1989, China’s emphasis has been on access to natural resources, commercial relations and political influence. This has been especially true since the Chinese economy became powerful and dominant, and its need for energy resources from resource-rich developing countries, particularly Africa, has witnessed a sharp increase. Conclusion This chapter is an overview of China–Africa relations. Given the nature of China’s relations with Africa and its implication for economic development, the chapter throws light on the development challenges that both Africa and China faced during their historical struggle. Given the importance of China’s economic links with countries in Africa, this book is a contribution towards providing clarity in understanding the impact of China’s trade and investment on economic development outcomes and capacity building as they exist in both China and Africa as well. This chapter has provided the background information to the subject, which will be useful for further discussions in the following chapters. As demonstrated in the chapter, both Africa and China have experienced historical challenges of development and civil conflict, and humiliation from Western powers, with Africa being the victim of colonialism. These shared events have facilitated the current relationship between Africa and China

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  Global China: Internal And External Reaches

  Internal and External Reaches

  • Pak Nung Wong, Yu-shek Joseph Cheng(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • WSPC

    (Publisher)

  Integration of China into capitalism was done through a gradual process of consolidation of the state power, the nationalization of all companies, including the agricultural lands until 1980. The initiative to private agenda started in 1980 with the intensification in 1990. However, all was done under the design and implementation of state planning. This situation of combining the command economic principle: Central planning and “socialism with the market” or “socialism of the market” has created for some researchers, some methodological ambiguity in assessing the origins, the motivation and goals of the Chinese state and its Communist Party.

  However, the dominant trends and objectives as articulated above are identified in the Chinese state’s relations, its policies both at domestic and international levels and worldview as reflected in the Chinese positions in world affairs.

  As examined in the FOCAC programs, trades and foreign aid, China in Africa is a selective movement. China has developed more relations with countries with more natural resources than those which are naturally poor and do not have geopolitical location value. Thus, resource location and geo-political strategies are very important in Chinese relations with Africa. Furthermore, China needs good allies in international affairs. Africa has been offering this alliance.

  It should be noted that China in Africa has also created opportunities for Africa which typically, a liberal world economy has not provided. The true appreciation of China in Africa should be examined only when African states have the capability of assessing the quality of their benefits and when they acquire the ability and political will to negotiate with China on equal footing.

  As China has decided to take development to the interior of the country and balance it with that of the coastal region, this will require more resources and cheap Chinese labor. Perhaps China might slow down some of its rural development in Africa and focus on its new strategy. This might create a vacuum left by the Chinese policy in rural development. Africa should be able to carefully learn about this new strategy that might take place in the next decade or so.

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  Underdevelopment, Development and the Fu

  • Munyaradzi Mawere(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Langaa RPCIG

    (Publisher)

  A further most pressing interest is to understand the nascent, and controversial, China-Africa relationship that evolved from 2000, and to determine what is ‘in it’ for each side. As the title of this chapter asks: is it a matter of China for Africa, or Africa for China or reciprocally, Africa and China for each other? This means to inquire if one side or both are gaining from existing partnerships. It also investigates if the central tenets of Chinese development are being unwisely neglected by African political and business leaders. Are they favouring short-term gains of Chinese-built infrastructure and aid, in return for Chinese access to raw materials? A fundamental question is therefore: does African development policy require reorientation toward a new relationship based on understanding and emulating China’s successful development? Africa and China: An emerging relationship How did China come to Africa? A Chinese economic presence was certainly already in place in the 1960s following the demise of colonialism, but this was very small in scale and confined to a handful of African countries (Drummond and Liu 2013). At this time, Africa saw a period of respectable economic growth supported by strong Western rather than Asian investments. China was then struggling with its own economic and political problems, with very limited focus on the Africa continent. Positive African economic development dramatically reversed in the 1970s, and growth fell or stagnated well 64 into the 1990s. The reasons for this are complex, but generally relate to civil conflict and a serious political deterioration in many African countries, accompanied by a withdrawal of foreign investment; but also coinciding with a long crisis in the Western economic system triggered by accelerating oil commodity prices (Bratton and De Walle 1997).

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  Cooperation for a Peaceful and Sustainable World

  Part 2

  • Li Junsheng, Chen Bo, Hou Na, Li Junsheng, Chen Bo, Hou Na(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Emerald Group Publishing Limited

    (Publisher)

  This essay is based on the social constructivist precept that the proliferating discourse about China Africa relations not merely represents “reality” (reality as one sees it) but also produces meaning, with empirical “evidence” used in this circumstance serving as much for obscuring aspects of “reality” as for high-lighting them. From an African(-ist) perspective, the issue surrounding the public and academic discourse about Africa-China relations boils down to whether China’s stepped-up activity in Africa is a boon for the continent. In this universe of discourse, on the one hand, are Sino-pessimists who see China as exploitative, which not only is already sucking Africa’s resources in order to fuel its own rapid industrialization but also is bound to destroy Africa’s development potential in the process. On the other hand, there are Sino-optimists who perceive China as the ultimate savior, capable of or will-ing to “develop” Africa. Between the two divergent views are those sitting on the fence for the time being, the Sino-pragmatists , who, although less sanguine about the potential outcome of Afro-Chinese relations, are willing to reserve judgment until the dust settles. The emergence of these divergent perspectives can be explained first in terms of the contradictions in Chinese activities in Africa in recent years, what may be called the dualism of China’s diplomacy in Africa. One of these contradictions is China’s tendency to invest both in resource-rich countries (such as Angola, Sudan, Congo Rep., Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria) and in countries not yet known for producing or having resources critically important to China (for instance, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Central African Republic (CAR), Mozambique, Tanzania, Liberia, and Madagascar). Another manifestation is the multiplicity of actors on the part of China ranging from the state, semi-private enterprises, and private companies to private individuals.

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  China's Expansion into the Western Hemisphere

  Implications for Latin America and the United States

  • Riordan Roett, Guadalupe Paz, Riordan Roett, Guadalupe Paz(Authors)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Brookings Institution Press

    (Publisher)

  In the face of this criticism, Chinese officials have been anxious to ensure two things: first, that the China-Africa Cooper-ation Forum held in Beijing in November 2006 would remain a public show-piece of good relations between the two regions; and second, that China can begin to consolidate its economic and diplomatic gains in Africa. At the heart of the consolidation effort are three spheres of contention: trade friction, val-ues friction, and competition with the West. How China manages these issues will be critical to shaping its ties with the African continent. Trade Friction The blossoming trade relationship, despite its statistical growth, contains some concerns for African economies. The balance of trade favors China’s export orientation. In the South African case, this imbalance has been a topic of con-tention in ministerial meetings between the two countries for a number of years; local industries and merchant traders have been hit especially hard by the flood of cheap Chinese imports, particularly when these are linked to the setting up of Chinese wholesale and retail shops that use established networks to access goods. Across the continent, from northern Namibia to central Kenya, traditional products and retailers have been edged out by the advent of Chinese businesses. Even in Angola’s war-torn region of Huambo, five Chinese retailers have managed to carve out a position since arriving in 2000 that effec-tively closed down established Angolan suppliers and retailers. 43 Furthermore, 228 China’s Expansion into the Western Hemisphere the use of Chinese contract labor instead of local people has brought criticism of Chinese-sponsored projects from Ethiopia to Sudan and Namibia. 44 A fur-ther cause of friction is bound to be the relative wealth of the Chinese in Africa. For example, in Lesotho the local population has periodically rioted against Taiwanese businesses, which have been operating there since the 1970s.

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