China’s engagement in Africa – a win-win cooperation?

“Today, few appear to have noticed that a second “scramble for Africa” is under way. This time, only one giant country is involved, but its ambitions are every bit as momentous as those of Rhodes and company. With every day that passes, China’s economic tentacles extend deeper into Africa.” wrote David Blair in a much-noticed article in 2007.

While China’s investment in Africa is well known and the intensity steadily increasing, China’s motives remain looked upon with suspicion from the international community. Articles like the one of David Blair underline what many politicians and journalists, especially in the western world, seem to believe: the new global superpower China aims to exploit poor African countries to strengthen its access to scarce resources. But is the situation really that simple, or is China’s motivation to cooperate with African countries a rather complex matter?

The lack of baggage from a history of colonizing African countries is one major aspect why Africa seems to be trusting China as an investor and actor in development cooperation compared to many European countries. While countries like France or the United Kingdom are still active in their former colonies, their efforts sometimes seem to be motivated by a sense of bad conscience. For China this is not the case, instead of focusing on pure aid, they seek cooperation and try to combine it with a market-based approach. Viewing itself as a developing country, China tries to treat its African partners as equals. One of the central methods of operating is conveying their best-practice examples, which allows locals to adapt the learned skills and methods to match them to the existing conditions. This underlines the Chinese’ will to cooperate rather than setting rules the supposedly inferior country should oblige.  

Another common practice is investment in infrastructure projects. This is actually something the Chinese are known and critiqued for. Building roads and railways as ways of transportation are expensive projects, which local governments often cannot afford or are not willing to invest in. By linking infrastructural support to the rights to certain natural resources or land, China combines business and aid. This is not only a method of operation but one of the main motivations for China’s investment – advancing the economic potential of African countries so they become lucrative trading partners and attractive for Chinese companies (often state-owned enterprises) to invest in. Without functioning infrastructure businesses will not settle and let alone flourish.

Aside from the economy-oriented motives, cooperating with Africa retains advantages for China regarding soft-power as well as strengthening relations. By mixing aid with business China is becoming a central agent for development and already Africa’s biggest trading partner. Because African countries have the potential to play an important role in international relations, China is securing a valuable partner and thus significant ally for future world politics.

Are these motives selfish? Yes. Do they determine all of China’s activities in Africa. No, China is also giving development aid in form of training centers, scholarships and investments without an expected service in return. Is the combination of aid and business bad for Africa? There is not an easy answer to this. Just because China has financial motives for cooperating, does not mean that they exploit Africa. Instead of granting aid which is linked to political and reform prerequisites like Western countries, China ties its support to business opportunities for Chinese business. That the conditions of those contracts are not benefiting African countries is problematic but not always the case. Aside from only blaming the Chinese business owners and government, one must hold the African governments accountable as well. Each government needs to decide what it is that they can get from cooperating with the Chinese and what terms the contract needs to include, in order to profit its population. Sometimes the African governments are in an inferior position when negotiating though, which can be taken advantage of by the Chinese.

One solution to this could be, changing the way negotiations work. China is mostly working with bilateral agreements and only setting ground rules and agendas during the FOCAC summits. African nations could profit from entering a contract as a group of African countries, so they have a stronger position towards China. Alternatively, the African Union could be the central contact for China-Africa cooperation instead of the individual governments. Whether the China-Africa cooperation is beneficial to both parties therefore depends on the way it is executed, but the potential is definitely given.

Dott.ssa Farina Owusu