China, India not rivals in African investment
Senior officials from all 54 African countries were gathering in New Delhi Wednesday for their biggest-ever summit that is aimed at boosting trade, combating terrorism and pushing for greater power for India and Africa in the United Nations.
Chinese analysts said that the closer ties between India and Africa will contribute to South-South cooperation, but dismissed media reports that India is trying to challenge China's dominance in Africa as groundless.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday met with the heads of several African nations, including South African President Jacob Zuma and Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe and current chairman of the African Union, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI).
UN reforms, especially reform of the Security Council to include India and South Africa, is a major issue on the agenda, as well as anti-terrorism cooperation. They sought deepening of ties in diverse sectors including healthcare, education and capacity building, PTI reported.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also met with foreign ministers from African nations on Wednesday, and called for Indian companies to invest in Africa for resources and growth opportunities.
While the previous India-Africa summits in 2008 and 2011 were relatively small, the Indian government has put more effort into making the third summit an "unprecedented" event.
Western media, however, were focusing on the competition with China for resources in Africa.
The Associated Press said India is engaging with Africa to "ensure it is not completely overshadowed on the continent by its neighbor and rival, China."
Reuters, on the other hand, emphasized how Modi wants to "capitalize on an economic slowdown in China to highlight India as an alternative partner for trade and investment."
"Our partnership is not focused on an exploitative or extraction point of view, but is one that focuses on Africa's needs and India's strengths," Reuters quoted Vikas Swarup, spokesman for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, as saying.
Since the first India-Africa summit was held in 2008, two-way annual trade has more than doubled to $72 billion. That lags behind trade between China and Africa, which had exploded to $220 billion by 2014.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a research fellow with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Western media has been trying to provoke relations between China and India by highlighting words like "challenge" and "catch-up."
"The African market is huge, and there is no competition or contradictions between China and India in their roles in Africa," Fu told the Global Times Wednesday.
He added that China has an advantage in infrastructure construction, while India, based on historic ties, developed cooperation with Africa in culture, labor and information technology.
He Wenping, an expert in African studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China is open to other countries' cooperating with Africa.
"India is also a developing country and a member of the BRICS bloc, its better development is not a bad thing for China," He told the Global Times. She said many of her friends in Africa said some Western countries have been labeling China's presence in Africa as new colonialism, but African countries are nevertheless still willing to do business with China.
She added that more countries cooperating with Africa means more opportunities for Africa, which will benefit all sides.
China is scheduled to hold the second China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December. China and Africa have been holding a series of ministerial conferences since starting the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in October 2000.
