China has left its mark on Africa from Morocco to South Africa. Its presence is conspicuous in oilrigs and factories, roads and railways, developmental projects and social welfare programs, education and cultural programs. This was the observation made by Adam Clayton Powell III, the Vice-Provost for Globalization at the University of Southern California. This phenomenon is also consistently increasing.
Chinese tourists are seen everywhere in various African destinations, much to the advantage of Africa’s tourism industry. Energy and raw materials are targets for Chinese imports, but the level of interest in Africa seems to form part of a grand strategic plan of China’s leadership, culminating in an African push of this magnitude. China is not just an “oil-thirsty giant”; it is revealing a commitment to African development as reiterated by Chinese leaders on their recent trips to African nations. These were goodwill trips to non-oil producing countries to show that Africa would get support from China despite the global economic slowdown. China is also the world’s largest per capita consumer of minerals and metals, and is well aware of Africa’s ability to provide these, as the African continent has 90% of the world’s platinum output and 30% of base metals, not to mention 50% of the world’s gold.
Chinese companies operating in Africa are steadily increasing in number. In terms of volume of trade, figures in January 2009 reveal that Angola became China’s largest African trader with trade volumes crossing the $25 billion mark. Chinese creativity and flexibility is evident from the strategy of its Exim Bank allowing heavily indebted African nations to pay for infrastructure projects in kind, using their natural resources.
Its overall development apart, each African nation benefiting from Chinese aid and investments, is cooperating with China due to its policy of keeping political issues segregated from economic ties. All of China’s business relationships are in no way affected by political or human rights issues. China has a presence in 47 African countries including some of the world’s poorest nations, and it participates in a diverse set of industries from information technology to food products and agriculture.
Source : China Africa
