Space International

China and the U.S. are often portrayed as struggling for influence around the world. But to look at it this way is to risk a self-fulfilling prophecy, as this view implies that international relations are a zero-sum game and are, in fact, about being “either with or against” one or the other. European countries do, for instance, have quite elaborate contacts with Beijing – and the U.S. does not see that as a power struggle about influence there.

African states are enjoying the liberty to broaden the scope of their external relations, going beyond the limitations that the U.S.-Soviet cold war inflicted on them. This has several aspects: First, it is comforting to be in demand by numerous partners and to see some more options beyond the previously marginalized position. Second, it gives additional choices and makes international relations more complex, but also more flexible. Third, most African states do not want to throw themselves at either the U.S. or China, but want to be members of the international community with diversified foreign relations.

Thus, to avoid a U.S.-China “cold war,” we should ensure that African states do not face an either-or choice. The development toward a more multipolar world is a fact of life, with not only China but also India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and others playing an increasingly important role in their regions and globally. This might be making the world a less predictable place, as there is more than one or two actors to consider. But it is the world beyond the cold war. We should engage constructively with it — and leave African states their choices in this world.

There shouldn’t need to be a debate about whether China should provide economic aid and technical assistance to other countries. Yet voices have been raised in recent years decrying China’s foreign aid as an unnecessary face-saving project that it cannot afford. These naysayers argue that China is still a developing country with a large poverty stricken population and can’t afford to give aid on such a large scale, and that aid is not an effective way to develop diplomatic relations as some recipient countries have turned against China.

But such arguments are false. Aside from humanitarian reasons, foreign aid to other countries is necessary for the survival and development of China. This can clearly be seen if we take the historical background into account.

Foreign aid played an irreplaceable role in helping China to break the trade embargos imposed by both the Western and Eastern blocs soon after the People’s Republic of China was founded. It enabled the country to make friends and deepened mutual understanding with many other developing countries and their people…

There is an easy solution to this problem: Hire local reporters. One notable exception to the history of poor coverage of Africa is the BBC, whose World Service has long maintained correspondents in most of the continent’s capital cities. Although the World Service’s budget has been slashed repeatedly due to declining government support, the BBC has managed to keep much of its Africa coverage afloat by relying largely on local reporters to get the story. This has been particularly important in Somalia. For two decades, it has been nearly impossible for Western reporters to fully and freely report from Somalia due to safety concerns, but the BBC Somali Service’s team of local correspondents and producers do an excellent job of getting the news out from their own country. There’s no reason that other major media providers couldn’t hire local reporters to improve their coverage as well. Rather than relegating them to second-tier or co-author status, why not hire Africans as country or regional correspondents? A reporter does not have to be Caucasian to provide objective and well-written reporting from the continent, and in many cases, this reporting is more nuanced than that of an international correspondent who spends five days reporting a story. For example, by far the most thoughtful reporting and analysis on Ugandan reactions to the Kony 2012 viral video came not from American journalists, but from Ugandan reporter Angelo Izama who, to the New York Times’ credit, was able to publish an opinion article in its pages. Why can’t the Times hire Izama or someone equally qualified to report on Uganda full time?

The ‘China in Africa’ story brims with ambivalence and ambiguity. Nowhere is this more evident than on the African street. The influx of Chinese products and the proliferation of small Chinese enterprises are affecting ways of life in African towns and cities, but exactly how and to what extent is hotly contested. Their presence has sparked outbreaks of xenophobic violence, led to increased competition with local businesses and prompted calls for tougher regulation and government intervention. They have become the whipping boy for Africa’s politicians, merchants and labour unions upset by Beijing’s growing ties to the continent. However, Chinese traders have also afforded millions of African consumers the opportunity to purchase a range of goods for the first time.

This study is perhaps the first to investigate and compare the perceptions of Chinese traders in a systematic way, across several African countries.

Elevator conversations can tell us a lot about public discourses. I recently struck up a conversation with a man in an elevator. When I told the man that my job entailed researching the Chinese presence in Africa, he responded with the comment: “We’d better keep an eye on them, soon they will be taking over the entire continent”. His response did not shock me if only because it was the most recent of a litany of like-minded comments I had heard since my return to South Africa a few months ago. Similarly, in my preced-ing years spent in the United Kingdom, protests of “neo-colonialism”, “exploitation” and “propping up tyrants” arose almost as knee-jerk reactions to the topic of China-Africa relations.

The China-Africa Development Fund is shifting its investment strategy with the focus now on infrastructure, manufacturing and agriculture, after a capital injection of $2 billion, Hu Zhirong, vice-president of the fund, said.

Besides energy and resources, the fund is looking at projects in “infrastructure, manufacturing, new energy and agriculture”, to boost Africa’s standard of living, he said in an interview.

The World Bank has said it’s in very early stage talks on cooperating with China to promote the transfer of low-value manufacturing jobs to Africa.

“Our forecast is that China will likely shed some 85 million manufacturing jobs in the coming years because of fast rising wages for unskilled workers, which could be an economic bonanza for Africa,” noted Mr. Moustapha Ndiaye the World Bank Uganda Country manager.

It is accepted wisdom among economists that no country can out-compete China — it will always be cheaper, faster and tougher than any other. No matter how technologically sophisticated a country’s industries are, when their Chinese peers enter the market, they can out-price, out-speed and out-live anyone. If that’s the case, Africa has a big problem. Its hope of selling something aside from oil, gas and minerals — something that creates enough jobs — lies in the type of low-skilled manufacturing where China rules. Game over? Not quite.

South Africa’s membership of the bloc of leading emerging economies and its unique position in Africa heralded the country’s role as a gateway into the African continent.

However, trade experts question whether it can live up to this position as investors begin to increasingly look towards other African markets.