Why Sino -Africa Cooperation is not a lopsided tokenism festival

The new Chinese president’s visit to Africa was not only significant but symbolic. It was his first foreign trip as president and he chose to come to Africa. Although many view this visit as a good gesture and a demonstration of Africa’s importance to the world’s second biggest economy, skeptics are raising questions as to what intentions China has in Africa.

China’s association with Africa is longstanding. It started long before the colonialists came to Africa. It improved slightly during Africa’s liberation struggle in which China played a supporting role. However, when China eventually entered into the development arena proper, to establish a new type of strategic relationship with Africa, many viewed it with a lot of suspicion. Understandably, Africa had misgivings considering the after affects of colonialism. The continent was not ready to open up to another foreign nation whose agenda in Africa it could not tell. 

Nevertheless, China offered Africa friendly assistance with no political strings attached, initiated huge infrastructure projects with efficiency and cost effective ways and established a cooperative mechanism where African leaders and Chinese leaders could dialogue and pursue their common interests. A results oriented culture of development cooperation was nurtured and the country gradually gained the trust of the African people and established a blossoming development momentum in Africa.

China made a strategic choice to partner with Africa to achieve both Africa’s development and its own development. From the onset, the Asian giant made it clear that it needs Africa to develop and averred that its development is hinged on Africa’s development. The establishment of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, which meets at the summit level every three years, has helped to coordinate the rapidly expanding engagement between China and Africa. 

Since its inception in 2000, China has earnestly implemented all its cooperation commitments made at the various FOCAC ministerial and Beijing Summit. The benefits for Africa include debt cancellation, tariff exemption, provision of concessional loans and the scheme of special loans designed to help small and medium sized African enterprises. These achievements, which have been well received by the African states, are practical and evident for everyone to see. China has focused on concrete programmes such as infrastructure, livelihood projects, education, healthcare etc, from which the African people can see and feel, and can benefit directly.

China is of course looking out for its own interests but so long as these interests are compatible with African interest and mutually beneficial, then Africa has no reason to shy away.  Former Zambian President Rupiah Banda well put it when he said, "The Chinese have selfish interests, naturally," He said. "We are prepared to do this with anybody else. It is not that this is reserved for China. It is that they are the only ones who seem to see it the way that we see it." He added that “China understands Africa better than most of the world and has proved it’s a trusted ally.”

China is now Africa’s largest trading partner and one of the world's leading investors in Africa. Annual trade between China and Africa reached about $200 in 2012 and Chinese imports from Africa have soared 20-fold in a decade.  However, Pang Zhongying, an Africa specialist at Renmin University in Beijing warns that China has to demonstrate that it is not repeating the old practices of the European powers. 

Naturally, increased engagement comes with its own challenges. Some African officials have voiced fears that China’s dominance as an exporter of cheap garments, appliances and other goods, and its appetite for unprocessed raw materials, have skewed economic ties and undermined African hopes to advance into industrial prosperity. 

This has been acknowledged by China’s new president and in his tour of Africa last week, he sought to assure African countries that his government would heed complaints that competitive Chinese companies were suffocating African efforts to nurture industry and jobs, and he promised aid, scholarships and technology transfers in an effort to counter those fears. He added that “China has and will continue to work alongside African countries to take practical measures to appropriately solve problems in trade and economic cooperation so that African countries gain more from that cooperation.”

Despite the balance of trade titling towards the Chinese side, Africa has made great strides by reaping huge benefits particularly when it comes to moving up the manufacturing value chain, increasing productivity, infrastructure development and fostering private enterprise. China is helping its African partners to industrialize both by building infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications, and power stations that cut the cost of doing business, and by investing in manufacturing. Its investments are bringing in technology, skills, management conceptions and employment opportunities.