On his first state visit overseas, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Africa in March 2013, in a gesture to celebrate the closeness of the economic ties that have made Beijing the continent's largest trading partner. During the high-profile tour, Xi signed deals worth billions of dollars in assistance for the African countries of Tanzania, South Africa, and Congo.
This is not a new occurrence. Chinese investments in Africa span across many sectors and are not confined to the Chinese government and state-owned companies. Several private Chinese companies have also invested heavily in Africa. For example, Huawei, a leading Chinese global telecom services provider, has invested a total of USD 1.5 billion and employs 4000 workers in Africa alone. The past decade's trade figures also attest China's growing trade ties with Africa, having grown from just USD 9 billion in 2000 to USD 200 billion in 2012.
China's interest in Africa has been driven by the appetite for Africa's natural resources in order to sustain its rapid growth. The Africa policy of the Chinese Communist Party is rooted in 'development' and what it calls 'mutually beneficial cooperation'. Unlike the United States, which insists on tying its developmental aid with democratic reforms, China's 'non-interference' policy towards Africa has been dependent on only one principle: the recognition of One China. Basing itself on its role of champion of the developing world, China has hitherto explained non-interference as respect for African states' autonomy when it comes to creating their own development programs, and a desire for their support in establishing a new and rational economic order.
On Africa's part, the reason behind the continent's compliance to China's advances is logical enough – for countries desperate for aid and resource infrastructure, the interests of a rising superpower are always welcome, especially when those interests come with large sums of money and infrastructure development.
But with the passage of time, both countries are beginning to see that the way ahead will not always be smooth sailing. Africa's growth will almost certainly be hampered by drastic shifts in geopolitical and economic trends pertaining to China. Read More --You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
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