Others contend that China is a partner in development, a fresh face with deep pockets. Africa desperately needs investment to create jobs, build roads, hospitals and schools. Africa needs access to cheap goods to feed and clothe the impoverished, and a friend that does not impose unfair and unrealistic conditions on loans or investments. China, the argument goes, is neither paternalistic nor philanthropic. China is a partner. 

So, the question remains: which argument holds water? Is colonialism back/still in vogue or is China’s involvement in Africa a breath of fresh air? As is often the case, only history will tell all. A cursory study, however, suggests that neither argument is completely correct. But one thing is certain, for better or worse, China is making quite the mark in Africa. 

Last year, China’s trade with Africa reached $55 billion, an increase from less than $10 million in the 1980s. China now ranks as Africa’s third largest trading partner, on the heels of the European Union and United States. Chinese FDI in Africa totals $1.2 billion. And since 2003, the number of Chinese firms operating in China has increased ten-fold.  

Increased trade with China constitutes a catch-22 for Africa. On the one hand, access to cheap Chinese goods—clothing, light bulbs, shoes, etc.—means more money for more Africans. But at the same time, as cheap, finished, manufactured goods flood African markets, people lose their jobs, and the path to homegrown development is sidetracked.  

Wilfred Collins Wonani, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Zambia, commented that,   “sending raw materials out, bringing cheap manufactured goods in…isn’t progress. It is colonialism.” Lending credit to Wonani’s frustrations, dozens of clothing and textile companies in South Africa have closed and tens of thousands of jobs have been lost due to Chinese imports.  

Cheap imports are not China’s only contribution to job loss in Africa. The New York Times reported that “Legal and illegal Chinese immigrants are moving to Africa by the tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands. Chinese laborers are brought in to work in extractive industries, construction and manufacturing projects fueling charges that Chinese investors are taking rather than creating jobs.”  Michael Sata, a Zambian opposition politician, believes that “[China’s] interest is exploiting us, just like everyone who came before…They have simply come to take the place of the West as the new colonizers of Africa.” 

Still, it is difficult to deny that all across Africa investment in infrastructure is skyrocketing. In Zambia alone, China plans to invest $800 million over the next few years. That means more roads, schools, hospitals, and jobs. “There is no doubt China has been good for Zambia,” said Felix Mutati, Zambia’s minister of finance. “Why should we have a bad attitude toward the Chinese when they are doing all the right things? They are bringing investment, world-class technology, jobs. What more can you ask for?”  

This is neither an outrageous nor an uncommon sentiment among respected African leaders. Kalifa Malloum, the secretary general of Bongor, one of Chad’s regional governments, noted that, “If the West does not want to invest in us, let the Chinese come. We welcome them. They don’t tell us what to do and they bring development. They are good partners.” “Let the Chinese come,” said Mahamat Hassan Abakar, a lawyer in Chad. “What Africa needs is investment. It needs partners.” 

And yet, despite all of the projects undertaken by China to build new roads, schools, hospitals, and bridges, and all of the good deeds China funds, Darfur reminds us that China’s actions are strategic at best and demonic at worst. Over 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million displaced in a government-backed genocidal campaign. Wives have watched their husbands hacked to death with machetes and makeshift weapons. Children have witnessed their mothers raped. Babies have been shot dead as they clung to the backs of their mothers. For far too long, China has refused to press Khartoum to accept the Security Council mandate for a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. And for far too long, China has allegedly supplied weapons to the government of Sudan, allowing the janjaweed to carry out mass murder.  

China’s relationship with Africa does not necessarily reek of neo-colonialism, nor does it reflect an equal-partnership. So, the question thus becomes this: is Africa better or worse off with China as a key regional player?  

The answer depends on who you ask: someone who lost their job as a result of cheap Chinese imports, who was displaced by conflict at least partly because China sat on its hands, or someone who was able to purchase cheaper clothes and food for their family, finally bringing their goods to market because new roads lowered transportation costs, and safely sending their child to school because one now exists closer to home.   

So, what do you think: Is China good or bad for Africa?  

Works Cited

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