Toyin Falola < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 01/04/07 9:45 PM China in Africa: From capitalism to colonialism By Jian Junbo Dr Jian Junbo is an academic visitor at Durham University, United Kingdom, and a lecturer at the Center for European Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Greater China    SPEAKING FREELY   Jan 5, 2007 Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. <http://www.atimes.com/mediakit/write-for-atol.htmlPlease click here if you are interested in contributing. During a trip to Nigeria last February, Britain's then foreign secretary, Jack Straw, remarked that what China was doing in Africa now was much the same as Britain had done 150 years before. Like Straw, some Western scholars and politicians maintain that China is a new colonizing power, exploiting Africa's natural resources and harming its quest for democracy and human rights. Conversely, on June 18, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said in Egypt, where he started a visit in Africa, that the cap of neo-colonialism could never adorn the head of China. It's clear there exist two contradictory opinions on China's image and actions in Africa: colonizing power or capitalist benefactor? Classic colonialism beginning from the 15th century commonly consisted of foreigners occupying distant lands, controlling their economic and political affairs and exploiting their material resources though unfair or one-sided trade practices or simply by force. By that definition European states acted as colonizing powers in Africa and Asia, but they went far beyond colonialism through the slave trade, proxy wars and imposing cultural norms. After World War II, de-colonization movements blossomed in Africa and Asia, which finally overthrew and buried the colonial system. Unfortunately, a new colonialism paradigm subsequently emerged and quickly grew in 1960s as some Western nations became new colonizing powers through capital investments and high-tech production. This neo-colonialism embraces all aspects of classic colonialism except for occupying foreign lands, since all states in Africa remain technically independent. In this neo-colonialism, the exploiting power controls weaker states' economic resources and political systems and exploits their wealth under name of liberal capitalism. So where does China fall? Is it a colonizing power or not when it engages Africa, especially as more and more Chinese began to arrive on the continent from the beginning of the 21st century? Obviously, China hasn't occupied any African country. And as a country with a deep historical memory of being colonized by Western powers, China doesn't want to control Africa's economic and political systems. The Chinese government neither appoints military consultants to African governments nor constructs military _base_s on the continent. Moreover, China hasn't used deceitful means to steal and exploit African resources. Relations between China and African countries are grounded on reciprocal benefits, which is not just a slogan but a fact. Financial aid and other investments from China without political conditions are very helpful for African economies. For instance in 2005, the rate of China's contribution to Africa's total economic growth was at least 5%. Simultaneously, China buys African resources at a fair price to fuel its rapid economic growth. Though China is not a colonialist, it is a successful capitalist in Africa. The path it has taken on that continent is consistent with the logic of market capitalism - liberal trade _base_d on fair contracts. Of course, we cannot be blind to the possibility of China becoming a colonizing power some day. The day might come when African national economic systems have become so dependent on Chinese investments and export commodities that their domestic and foreign policies would in effect be decided by Beijing. With its increasing investments in Africa, there is the possibility that Chinese business people will push African national industries aside and bankrupt national economic systems; meanwhile, more and more companies from China enter Africa, but they simply focus on profits regardless of their harmful influences on African societies, such as environmental pollution, excessive development, and exploitation of local labor. However, this worry should not be taken too seriously. Africa's economic development heavily depends on Chinese investments or exports, but we should not forget that China will also depend on Africa's resources and economic growth. This interdependence indicates that both can still benefit from
... read more »