As the continent becomes one of the final frontiers of the fourth industrial revolution, Africa has become the world's fastest urbanising area, with people from rural areas migrating to cities at a rate that has even eclipsed that of China and India. This fast shift poses significant problems, but it also presents significant opportunities for countries prepared to invest billions in an infrastructure-building revolution unlike anything the world has ever seen – and no country has responded to Africa's call quite like China.
The path towards a possibly viable partnership
China has maintained a strong footprint across the African continent since its engagement in the infrastructure sector began in the 1960s. China-Africa trade has increased dramatically from US$1 billion in 1980 to US$128 billion in 2016. China has played a key role in Africa's urbanisation push over the years, with Chinese businesses driving and/or sponsoring a large share of the continent's infrastructure developments.
When it comes to finance, most money from western nations or organisations comes with tight conditions, which is inconvenient for impoverished African countries. In contrast, China's funding strategy—a mix of grants, subsidies, and loans with favourable repayment schedules, particularly for infrastructure projects—is a favorable alternative for African countries. China has a history of rapid and successful economic expansion, which makes it an appealing model for African countries to follow. It has made significant investments in large infrastructure, industrial, and connectivity projects, which are critical requirements for governments across Africa and, more importantly, provide quick delivery, widespread visibility of progress, and active governance to the local population, as opposed to lower-key and less-visible projects like training, education, or healthcare.
Infrastructure is what Africa needs most and infrastructure is what China is most equipped to provide. Over the last several decades, China has stunned the world by developing a 29,000-kilometer high-speed rail network, over 100,000 kilometers of new expressways, over 100 new airports, and over 3,500 new metropolitan centers using infrastructure to drive economic growth. Africa is desperate for this sort of infrastructure-driven economic growth right now, and many African leaders are looking to China for help.
The consequence of development
The sub-saharan continent is depicted as the primary victim of China's new worldwide abuse drive. China is claimed to be bolstering its own industries by obtaining raw materials such as minerals, fossil fuels, and agricultural commodities from all over the world, with Africa being the primary focus. China is the continent's largest commercial partner, with presence in 39 African nations. The tens of billions of dollars in investments and loans from China are readily welcomed by cash-strapped African countries, but they come with a slew of conditions.
Many of Africa's most expensive infrastructure projects are being constructed with Chinese collaborations, including the $12 billion Coastal Railway in Nigeria, the $4.5 billion Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, and the $11 billion megaport and industrial zone at Bagamoyo. The Belt and Road Initiative is primarily aimed at improving access to European markets, which are China's major export destinations, ahead of Southeast Asian nations and the United States. As a result, Africa plays a minor role in the BRI, and China's investments under this banner are largely concentrated on Egypt and the Horn of Africa. What else might explain China's interest in Africa if not economics? Africa, in my opinion, is the cornerstone of Chinese diplomacy. The 53 African allies not only broaden the scope of China's foreign operations, but also deepen the strategic depth of China's game with the US, bolstering its initiative and influence in international affairs.
Furthermore, while the majority of the projects China is pursuing in Africa as part of the BRI help to build infrastructure, industry, and connectivity across the continent, they are also extremely beneficial to Chinese companies in terms of utilising overcapacity and bringing labour and materials into Africa. The majority of professional labour in industrial projects comes from China, with a few African residents filling lower-level positions.
The Takeaway
To be sure, China defends the use of its labour and resources, claiming that they have greater skills and quality, allowing for cost savings. However, it has only undertaken a few initiatives that directly help the African people, such as increasing local healthcare, skills training, and education capacities. There have also been protests and the cancellation or suspension of Chinese projects due to a lack of local employment prospects, mounting debt worries, and quality standards violations or occurrences of malpractice on the ground. So yet, the BRI has mostly been a Chinese-led initiative, with just a few instances of collaboration with third-party African nations.
Finally, China is said to offer loans in order to bind countries to it; these loans must be repaid by economic concessions, political support, or a mix of the two. Although bilateral trade generally expands as a result of such agreements, opponents argue that the commerce is excessively slanted in China's favour, allowing the PRC to get resources while importing low-cost finished items of dubious quality, undermining local producers. China, for example, has invested in copper mines in Zambia. It brought men and machines to Zambia, replacing Zambian employees with Chinese labour, causing the country's unemployment rate to rise. Furthermore, Chinese businesses have disobeyed safety standards, depriving local miners access to basic safety gear.
China's rising involvement in Africa is, on the whole, a mixed bag. Although China's role in infrastructure development, resource extraction, and military capacity building appears to be positive, the treatment of African workers by Chinese companies, the large number of Chinese workers on the continent, and the aggressive behaviour of some retail traders and farm owners are resented in Africa. In a word, the expansion excursions of China into Africa in varied fields is typified by a mélange of unequal cooperation as well as latent elements of imperial rule.
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