The conventional wisdom is that China presents Africa with major threats and opportunities, and that there is growing tension between the United States and China over the latter’s evolving African interests. On paper, at least, the nascent interest of China in Africa looks to the latter’s advantage.
China’s trade with Africa has dramatically increased from US$11 billion in 2000 to $56 billion in 2006, making it the continent’s third-largest trade partner behind the United States and France. Beijing also has an African trade target of $100 billion by 2010 [1]. Africa is a new continental market for lesser-priced Chinese
exports, while it is a major source of raw materials, especially oil.
China has rapidly become the most assertive investor nation in Africa. More than 800 Chinese state-owned enterprises are today active on the continent, while Angola has now become China’s largest supplier of oil. Chinese firms have already invested more than $6 billion in Africa in 900 projects – notably in the oil sector [2]. This, however, still represents only 3% of Chinese overseas foreign direct investment (FDI) stock, illustrating the potential for future growth [3].
Reflecting this growing level of engagement, President Hu Jintao visited 17 African states during 2006-07- more than by any other head of state. The November 2006 Africa summit in Beijing was the largest diplomatic gathering ever in China. China has diplomatic relations with 48 of Africa’s 53 states – Gambia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and Sao Tome apart.
At the Beijing summit, the hosts pledged to double African aid and to offer $5 billion in loans and credits by 2009, while it has granted government scholarships to almost 20,000 people from 50 African countries and sent some 16,000 medical professionals to 47 African countries.
Beijing has also remitted a combined 10.9 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) in debt owed by African countries and on top of that, more than 10 billion yuan in debt cuts is under way [4]. In May 2007, it was announced that China is to ramp up infrastructure and trade financing to Africa to $20 billion over the next three years via its Exim Bank (Reuters, June 1, 2007).
As one recent indicator of the scale and type of Chinese involvement in Africa, in September 2007, China announced that it would lend the Democratic Republic of Congo $5 billion to modernize its infrastructure and mining sector. Under a draft accord, Beijing earmarked the funds for road and rail construction projects and for rehabilitation of Congo’s mining sector, while the repayment terms proposed included mining concessions and toll revenue deals to be given to Chinese companies (International Herald Tribune, September 21, 2007).
An August 2006 high-level meeting of African, US and Chinese specialists held at Tswalu in the Kalahari* found that there is no strategic conflict between the United States and China, though this situation is dynamic and could change. In addition, the prospects for such conflict may heighten due to the pursuit of China’s African commercial interests almost exclusively through state-owned firms.
