Viewing bilateral ties from Africa’s perspective
With the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit scheduled for September, which will bring together more than 50 African heads of state to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping, voices casting doubts on ChinaAfrica cooperation seem to grow louder.
AFRICA’S fate depends on how much power it exercises, and the level of preparedness the African countries display at the upcoming FOCAC summit in Beijing Over the past four decades, China and African countries have deepened cooperation, mainly because China believes in mutual benefit and sees a multitude of opportunities for growth and geopolitical influence in Africa, which comprises the largest bloc of developing countries.
But China’s vision and efforts have often been misinterpreted as “neocolonialism” by sceptics and critics. Surprisingly, however, some of the western economies that have warned Africa against falling into a dangerous “debt trap” by dealing with China have been consistently rushing to forge strategic partnerships with China to benefit from its economic might.
In January, British Prime Minister Theresa May visited China and signed new deals under the Belt and Road Initiative. She was preceded by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a similar mission. They were followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in May. Thanks to its rapid growth, China is approaching the status of an upper middle-income country with plenty of potential for further development, making it a formidable partner for any economy.
So why is China-Africa cooperation often more critically scrutinised than other international partnerships?
With the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit scheduled for September, which will bring together more than 50 African heads of state to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping, voices casting doubts on China-Africa cooperation seem to grow louder. But while critical analysis of contemporary realities is valid and vital, it is just as necessary to revisit history and draw lessons from it.
Which raises an important question: How do Africa’s historical relations with the western world differ from those with China, and what lessons can we draw from them to guide our views of those relations today?
First encounters and fundamental differences Taking a view that places Africa’s riches at the centre, a comparison between the history of brutal scramble for wealth in the western coast of Africa and the long tradition of trade in the eastern coast clearly shows there have always been fundamental differences in how the Eastern and Western countries approached Africa and its people.
The arrival of European explorers and sailors in Africa in the 15th century brought good news of gold and other fortunes to the then Western empires, but it stamped the shame of colonisation, war and slavery on Africa, the consequences of which Africa and the world continue to suffer till today. And European traders’ arrival at the Guinean coastline in the 15th century and the colonisation of Cape Verde Islands marked a new epoch of violence and blind scramble for wealth in West Africa. Exploitative names resembling the prime colonial exports of this coastal region such as “the mine”, “the gold coast”, the “ivory coast”, the “pepper coast” and the “slave coast” came to represent the region as exploitations intensified. But years before European explorers arrived in East Africa, and began their brutal wave of colonisation, Chinese explorers had made several voyages to the East African coast, establishing some of the first diplomatic and trade relations between China and Africa. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led a large fleet of ships in seven expeditions to discover the world, showcase China’s power and establish cordial relations with other countries while conducting trade. His last three voyages took him to 11 cities along the eastern coastline of Africa, where he established diplomatic and trade relations with established powers such as the Ajuran Kingdom in Mogadishu, one of the most vibrant trade ports in the region since the 12th century. Subsequently, the East African coastline became an important part of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and played a key role in facilitating China’s trade with Africa and the Arab regions. Recent history and the
spirit of solidarity Since the bells of independence began ringing in different corners of Africa, China has been a dependable partner delivering vital aid and cooperating with African countries to enhance their economies and infrastructure in return for diplomatic support.
In the 1970s, at a time when China’s GDP was not much different from its African partners, the spirit of solidarity fueled most of the assistance projects in different parts of the continent. The most significant of which is perhaps the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, a monumental project that signified China’s support for African countries’ independence struggles. — China Daily.