Al Jazeera investigates the argument that the Chinese are a divisive force in Zambia as anti-Chinese rhetoric seems to be the fashionable tool for political leverage nowadays, from the US to Africa.
But the reality seems to be this – where the West refrains from making friends, China steps in. China has little qualms working with countries deemed as rouge states in its continued mission to find oil and resources, fast.
China’s focus in Africa is not a recent occurrence however. Sin0-African trade has exploded ten times to an excess of $100b in the last ten years.
Outside commentators too paint this relationship as one of colonialism. They forget colonialism is something the Chinese detest for they had suffered under such a regime before.
To say that China are colonists is too simplistic an argument.
They have vested interests yes, and it is hard to argue otherwise that their interest in Africa is one of self-interest as a starting point. How they manage and communicate that interest in the form of public diplomacy is something the Chinese have to work on.
The dichotomy here is this – on one end we seem to have the West promoting ‘civilizing missions’ on ‘behalf’ of Africans. On the other, we have activities of ‘amoral Chinese’ who do not adopt trade and investment practices wholly compliant with neo-liberalism.
Perhaps they should be asking the Africans themselves first before forming conclusions based on media representations and not first-hand knowledge.
From my studies, it seems the reception of the Chinese vary throughout the African continent but to take a myopic view that the Chinese are stamping a leaf from Western-styled colonialism is too much of a blanket value judgement.
I for one would love an opportunity to travel to Africa to see for myself.
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King Cobra and the Dragon
As China increases its economic ties in Africa, has the continent entered a new era of colonialism?
People and Power
Source – Al Jazeera, published Jan 05, 2012
China’s increasing engagement with Africa has become a subject of great controversy. The country’s commercial interests in Africa have been called a new form of colonialism by some in the West, but many Africans say that China is a better partner than Europe or the US. But what is the reality in the African nations with the longest standing links to China?
People and Power sent Sino-French academic Solange Chatelard and filmmaker Scott Corben to Zambia during the presidential elections in September 2011 to investigate whether Africa has entered a new era of colonialism with Chinese firms maltreating workers and devouring the continent’s natural resources.
Thousands of Chinese have settled in Zambia and opened businesses, but relations have not always run smoothly. Read the rest of this entry »
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