African countries welcome growing Chinese presence(2)

CHINESE PRESENCE IN AFRICA IS STILL SMALL

Analysts said China's increasing presence in Africa has made the West, who are losing ground in monopolizing Africa's resources, jittery. The West are doing everything possible to discredit China's positive developments in Africa.

However, the fact is that the Western countries are now still controlling the larger lion's share of Africa's economic activities, while the Chinese companies have so far remained only a small part of international investors seeking business opportunities in the continent.

In Zimbabwe, for example, British, American, Japanese, Australian and South African companies remain among the top investors in the country with more than 400 companies operating, despite comments by the West that China has taken a deliberate stance to "re-colonize" not only Zimbabwe, but the rest of Africa.

Zimbabwe has, since the formation of the inclusive government in 2009, received delegations from both the West and the East seeking to do business in the country.

Britain and the United States in particular have also held conventions where they have discussed business opportunities in the country.

Big Chinese companies such as Anjin, which is in partnership with the Zimbabwean government in diamond mining, ZIMASCO in iron smelting, and Sino-Zim in agro-business, are competing with many western corporations such as Australian-based Rio Tinto and Impala, Anglo American Corporation and several others based in neighboring South Africa.

British company Anglo American Corporation is present in both mining and agro-industry while Impala has an 87 percent ownership in the country's biggest platinum producer Zimplats and 50 percent in the smaller Mimosa Mine in Zvishavane.

DEBATE ON CHINA'S INVESTMENT IN AFRICA

A lot of debate has been going on concerning China's vast investments in Africa and other developing countries, with some skeptics arguing that China has come to re-colonize the resource-rich continent while others see it as a long overdue counter to the overbearing West.

Many African leaders have embraced the Look East Policy much to the chagrin of dissenters who say Chinese industry will swallow business on the continent.

Local TV commentator Walter Chari said the relationship between African countries and the West has been that of "master and servant" for centuries now. If the truth be told, Africans do not have much to show for their relationship with the West.

African countries have been at the mercy of the Western countries through the "aid industry." This "aid" has left many African economies crippled with debt only to be told that they have to declare themselves Heavily Indebted and Poor Countries (HIPC) in order to be "assisted" with yet more "aid". Naturally this "aid" comes with a lot of strings attached.

Europe's primary interest is to get these African resources as cheaply as possible for their own development.

China's growing economy is altering global balance of power. It has an ever rising profile in Africa and this growth is probably the most significant global development since the Cold War ended. It has sparked new interest in Africa's economic potential.

Chari said the rise of China has ended European and America's complacency that Africa would always belong in their sphere of influence, a continent for pacifying guilt rather than fostering development.

Observers noted that for the first time in two decades most African and other developing countries are now getting a choice of whom to do business with. China's importance is in that it offers the whole developing world a viable alternative.

There was a time when conventional wisdom had it that when America sneezed, the world caught a cold. Today the health of the global economy rests largely with China.

Bilateral ties with China, one of the world's leading economies, have seen African countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Sudan among others prosper in terms of infrastructure development.

One of the reasons why many African and other developing countries are increasingly opting to do business with China is because China tends to treat other nations as partners in the global village.

The Chinese have their own interests that they are actively pursuing but they have not let this result in them getting obnoxious when dealing with other countries, said Chari.

There is a lot of friendliness, respect and mutual understanding for development.

China is a country that pursues its own national and economic interests without interfering in domestic affairs of other countries, unlike Western countries particularly the United States which seeks to impose its own order on the world and acts like a big brother.

The commentator said, the United States, through institutions such as the World Bank, forces developing countries to adopt policies that further Washington's foreign policy and it is for this reason that the Third World prefers doing business with China.

According to historical records, the Chinese came to the African coast before the Europeans could navigate outside their waters. They never thought of conquering or colonizing the continent and the people they met, but were more interested in cultivating mutually beneficial ties.

It is this same approach to the rest of the world that China has today and from which they are benefiting.