Africa, China Bonds Have Mutual Benefits 

By the Associated Press
August 8, 2006
The New York Times
Original Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Africa-China.html

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- On a parade ground in the Zimbabwean capital, the national commissioner of police recently told police academy graduates that they should learn Chinese. And why not; African regimes such as Zimbabwe, largely shunned by the West, are turning to China for economic and political salvation.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, under targeted sanctions by most Western governments because of his country's human rights record and its retreat from the rule of law, has declared a ''Look East'' policy.
China, hungry for energy and raw materials as its economy expands, has invested heavily in Africa. At the same time, it has offered limited political and economic help to repressive governments in Africa. Western governments are more likely to tie engagement to political and social reform, though they, too, have a history of backing African dictators.
Africa is also a battleground in China's rivalry with Taiwan. Chad recently ended ties with Taiwan and resumed diplomatic relations with China after a break of nearly a decade.
Bilateral trade between China and Africa has increased more than 300 percent since 2000 and now exceeds $40 billion a year.
''There is a potential of political leverage for China. The West is worried about growing Chinese influence. But the political effect so far is less than might have been imagined,'' said Stephen Friedman, a senior research fellow at the Center for Policy Studies in Johannesburg.
''The argument is that they have helped Mugabe. But they haven't much. It has been more of a symbolic gesture.''
But Friedman said repressive and corrupt governments may nonetheless increasingly turn to China for economic development and political cover.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on a visit to South Africa in June, insisted China's interest in Africa was based on mutual respect, and that both sides would benefit.
''We respect the social system and development strategy pursued by African countries in light of their particular national conditions,'' Wen said in a speech during his visit. ''We do not seek to export our own values and development models.''
''We respect the principle of equality, mutual benefit and noninterference in other's affairs,'' he told reporters at another stop on his South African tour.
China is now the largest exporter of oil from Angola. It also exports oil from Sudan, without condemning that government for the killing in the Darfur region that the United States has labeled genocide.
At the United Nations last September, China worked to dilute a resolution condemning Sudan for the killings in Darfur.
China has come to Africa seeking oil and raw materials, such as Zambian copper, and to make investments that include such big ticket items as roads and refineries, usually built with Chinese labor.
The Chinese ''never make any pretense that they are anything other than hard nosed and want to take away a profit,'' said John Robertson, an independent economist in Harare. ''My biggest fear is that Zimbabwe has become so weakened that at some stage the Chinese can say, 'We can bail you out,' and in exchange we not only will repay money but sell their products in the region.
''In other words, we will be come the tool that wipes out the clothing, footwear and textile industries for the whole of Southern Africa, and the Chinese will have the market to themselves,'' said Robertson.
At the level of the working man, China -- and especially imported Chinese workers -- are seen as a threat to already meager livelihoods. In Zambia, local workers have rioted to protest the Chinese.
Chinese companies have been accused of flooding Nigerian markets with fake and substandard goods, notably textiles. In December, Nigerian officials took the dramatic step of shutting down several shopping centers run by Chinese traders in the commercial capital, Lagos.
Even in South Africa, the richest country on the continent, unions fearful of a loss of jobs, especially in the clothing and textile industries, are pressing the government to re-negotiate trade agreements with China they believe are advantageous to the Chinese.
South African imports from China exceeded $4.4 billion in 2005 compared with $1 billion in exports, according to government figures.
South African firms -- from mining giant Anglo American to Internet service providers and beer brewers -- have invested some $400 million in China, according to government figures. China has put about $130 million in South Africa, most in a chromium mine.
In Angola, where most people live in extreme poverty, Prime Minister Fernando Da Piedade Das Dos Santos last week had to respond to rumors that he had authorized the immigration of 4 million Chinese workers into Angola.
''The Chinese are coming to Angola within specific projects and after those projects come to an end they will return to their country,'' he said without confirming or denying the rumored figure.
In Zimbabwe, ''Look East'' has generated deep resentment of the Chinese, said John Makumbe, a political analyst at Zimbabwe University and a critic of Mugabe's policy.
But Friedman believes despite any resentment in the streets, corrupt and repressive African governments who have nowhere else to turn will look to China for political legitimacy and protection. Even if China has offered little political help so far, it presents itself as a leader of the Third World.
Democratic governments in Africa will look toward China because their businessmen will be pressing for access to China's huge market potential.
Friedman said China believes its investment in Africa, beyond bringing it the energy and raw materials for expansion, also has the potential of creating a windfall profit in geopolitical influence in the future.
''The West is very worried about China's involvement in Africa,'' said Friedman. ''Seeing a new superpower emerging is making it very uncomfortable.''