What China Wants From Africa? Everything

BAK

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Feb 11, 2007
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What China Wants From Africa? Everything
Panos MourdoukoutasContributor
Markets

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
© 2018 BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP
China wants everything from Africa: its strategic location, its oil, its rare earth metals, and its fish, leaving African nations indebted to Beijing.
In its long history, Africa has served the global ambitions of many foreigners. Foreigners have reached out to Africa as missionaries, financiers, and infrastructure builders.They have promised to place the continent on the globalization map and help its people grow out of poverty. But they ended up grabbing Africa’s riches, colonizing one nation after another, and letting their people steep in poverty.

That may end up being the case again, with China’s recent infrastructure investment projects in the continent.
On the surface, these projects seem to serve the quest of African nations to build a sound infrastructure. But on closer examination, they serve China’s ambitions to write the rules of the next stage of globalization.

China wants to use Africa as a location to secure maritime roads (and the OBOR projects) thatfacilitate Chinese exports, as evidenced by Beijing’s large military presence in Djibouti.
Then there are Africa’s resources, oil, rare earth metals, and fish.
“As a South African, I’ve seen China’s activities on the continent up close,” says Ted Bauman, Senior Research Analyst at Banyan Hill Publishing. “It’s clear that China’s primary goal with foreign investment is geopolitical, not economic. The most consequential investments are undertaken by state owned companies, not by Chinese private capital. They tend to focus on infrastructure like highways, ports and dams, and on public networks like the electrical grid.”

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That’s something many African countries desperately need in their bid to develop their economies.

The trouble is that “these investments help to bind countries to China politically, and through debt obligations,” explains Bauman. “It creates a form of leverage that China can use to force these countries to support Chinese ambitions globally. In some cases, such as the Angolan oil sector or Congolese rare earth mining, Chinese investment helps to lock-in supply relationships with essential commodities.”
Meanwhile, Chinese boats are reaching to west Africa, sweeping the sea of any kind of fish that tries to swim through the spread nets.
Xiaomeng Lu, China practice lead at Access Partnership, a global public policy consultancy for the tech sector, raises a more fundamental problem with Chinese investments. “China’s investments are being rolled out in a somewhat awkward, if not controversial fashion,” she observes. “For example, Huawei’s Smart City project in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka, faces criticism for being overly ambitious and debt-laden.” Not to mentionthe Hambantota port, which has been placed in Chinese hands for the next century, as a result of Beijing’s debt trap.

“Chinese President Xi aims to realize the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by projecting power overseas through the “Belt and Road” initiative, which covers both Southeast Asia and Africa,” adds Lu. “This political economy effort is paired with China’s growing military might in the South China Sea and the African continent, posing a growing challenge to the U.S. security umbrella worldwide.”
Then there’s the high-risk tolerance of the Chinese business model, which is more conducive to the developing world, according to Lu. “Chinese companies’ high-risk tolerance, low profit margin business model fares well in the developing world,” explains Lu. “China’s commercial sector’s interest overlaps with its government’s initiative in these geographies. For example, Huawei operates on very thin profit margin and is the industry leader in many emerging markets where western competitors such as Nokia and Ericson failed to make profit.”
“China’s behavior is essentially the same as that of the United States in the second half of the 20th century,” explains Bauman. “It’s using its rising economic power to build political “soft power.” And with the United States essentially rudderless when it comes to international relationships, the chances that China will succeed are very good indeed.”
But on its own terms, rather than the terms of African nations.
 
Magu is doing well on this because he doesn't let China or the west run over us like cheese on pizza.
 
Yani mkuu hiz nchi zinazopigania super power(Western nations,USA and China ) zote ni za kuogopwa.Maana hao huangalia interest zao kupita maelezo.
Na usijidanganye eti umkwepe mchina umfate MMAREKANI umekwisha yaleyale waruka mavi wakanyaga mkojo
Ninawaogopa wachina kuliko maelezo. Hawana lolote la kutusaidia.
 
Yani mkuu hiz nchi zinazopigania super power(Western nations,USA and China ) zote ni za kuogopwa.Maana hao huangalia interest zao kupita maelezo.
Na usijidanganye eti umkwepe mchina umfate MMAREKANI umekwisha yaleyale waruka mavi wakanyaga mkojo
Haya utafanya nini hapo! Huku huwezi/huna uwezo wa kuwaepuka mmojawapo au wote wawili kwa ujumla wao!

Jambo linalosikitisha ni kuona kwamba wa-Afrika wamekuwa wakitazamwa kama watoto wadogo wasioweza kukua na kupata uwezo wa kufikiri na kuamua wanataka nini wao wenyewe hata baada ya miongo sita tokea uhuru.

Haya yote tunajitakia wenyewe. Tunaruhusu hawa watu wa nje watuone kuwa watu tusioweza kufanya maamuzi yetu wenyewe. Tunasubiri tuambiwe na NGOs na 'ThinkTanks' ni kipi kinachotufaa na kipi hakitufai.

Tutaendelea kuwa 'tegemezi' wa wengine hadi lini katika maamuzi yanayotuhusu sisi wenyewe kwa manufaa yetu wenyewe?

Hiyo makala hapo juu ni nzuri sana, kwani inaweza kutumika kama 'case study' nzuri ya hizi propaganda, sio zinazotoka nchi za magharibi pekee, bali hata hayo wanayoyasema kuwahusu waChina na waChina wenyewe wanavyoiangalia Afrika.
Hata huko kwenye vyuo vikuu vya kiafrika, makala kama haya yangetakiwa kuchambuliwa kwa undani wake wote na kufikia uamzi ni kipi kinachotufaa sisi wenyewe.
 
What does AFRICA want from China? --- this question is conspicuously missing from the original post.

"If you do not stand for anything, you will fall for everything" -- isn't it what they say?

Afrika ni kama shamba la bibi -- Chinese, or anyone for that matter -- would be fools not to join the party.

Wachina hawaji na bunduki kuchukua wanachotaka Afrika.

Tujikague sisi wenyewe sisi Waafrika, kama audio hii isemavyo: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/butiama/episodes/2006-11-12T03_19_04-08_00
 
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