If you are planning to visit Africa in the future, you ought to be prepared to see an ethnic group you might not expect on the continent: the Chinese. For the last decade, China has been making inroads into much of sub-Saharan Africa with heavy investments and high expectations of return..
In the middle of the greatest industrial revolution since Britain, China is on a perpetual search for raw materials to feed its massive engine of production. How fast is Beijing extending its economic influence? Until the recession/depression of 2007, the China-Africa trade was increasing about 50% annually. In just seven short years from 2000-2007, trade skyrocketed from $10 billion to $50 billion per year. In asking the question 'What does China most desire from Africa?', the simple answer would be oil, uranium, titanium, zinc, copper, platinum, manganese, cobalt and an array of other vital minerals for its many manufactured products.
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When the Angolan civil war finally ended in 2002, China made an offer that the autocrat, Jose Eduardo dos Santos (in power since 1979), could not refuse. In exchange for a $2 billion loan on exceptionally easy terms, China was to be repaid in an agreed amount of oil over the next few years. While the Chinese gained a solid supply of petrol to fuel its burgeoning economy, the Angolan government received a sizable amount of money to rebuild its war-torn infrastructure. In comparison to the loan proposed by the International Monetary Fund, the long economic arm of Washington, China's aid was not conditional. Unlike the plan put forward by the IMF, China's loan, doled out from its EXIMBANK(Export-Import Bank) had no structural strings attached. Aside from agreeing to hire Chinese construction companies to do an agreed percentage of the work, Dos Santos and his clique were allowed to spend the money as they wished.
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For officials in Washington, China's aggressive behavior in Africa is troubling. Beijing has no compunction about allying with African dictatorships in order to attain prized resources. In the absence of fiscal transparency in these unholy alliances, China is only adding to Africa's political woes. When Omar al-Bashir and his Arab despots launched a genocidal campaign against Darfur a few years ago, China nullified UN Security Council resolutions condemning the atrocities with its vote.
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For the foreseeable future, the West must keep a close eye on Beijing's dealings in Africa. Although China has contributed to the building and rebuilding of Africa, it has also promoted and sustained political corruption in African states with its policies as well.
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African 'sultanism', whereby all power is placed in the hands of one strongman, must come to an end in order for the continent to achieve true progress. Hopefully, the days of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Omar al-Bashir and their militarist kind are short-lived.
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J Roquen