China and Africa

The US can’t be bothered to fund and provide the technology transfer needed to kick-start the economies of the continent (unless it’s oil). Rather, for reasons of cost, of its own fears for national security and its own poor economic state after the meltdown of global markets, it would have cheap and labour-intensive China do the job instead. And then wade in and take the pickings when markets improve.

Adedeji further disclosed that it is now widely acknowledged that the current global turbulence accentuated by the financial and banking turmoil which is reminiscent of the Great Depression of the 1920s and the 1930s, including the recent upheaval in Nigeria 's banking sector, "is the failure of corporate governance.."

The lawyers have much work to do because while China has one legal system, the 53 nations which make up Africa each have their own systems. Most are based on either the British legal system, with elements of Roman/Dutch law, or the French legal system.     There is also a strong legacy of Portuguese influence in former colonies. China's civil law system is based on traditional customs and practices, with Soviet and German influence.

The lawyers have much work to do because while China has one legal system, the 53 nations which make up Africa each have their own systems. Most are based on either the British legal system, with elements of Roman/Dutch law, or the French legal system.     There is also a strong legacy of Portuguese influence in former colonies. China's civil law system is based on traditional customs and practices, with Soviet and German influence.

The lawyers have much work to do because while China has one legal system, the 53 nations which make up Africa each have their own systems. Most are based on either the British legal system, with elements of Roman/Dutch law, or the French legal system.     There is also a strong legacy of Portuguese influence in former colonies. China's civil law system is based on traditional customs and practices, with Soviet and German influence.

A number of themes were singled out in his criticism. For one, accusing China of a "divide and rule" policy, he rejected Beijing's refusal to allow delegates of the African Union (AU) to participate in the Forum or to consider the AU as a representative of Africans. It "is an insult to the African Union. […] Is it reasonable for China—as a single country—to preside over an entire continent? This is an injustice. […] China's unwillingness to accept the presence of African Union commissioners means that they do not want the African Union, or African Unity, but rather China wants to cooperate with Africa as separate nations, rather than as a union."

he raised an interesting point, accusing China of evading politics and Beijing of abandoning the movements and countries that need its support. "Here I am reminded of the strange Chinese position on the Goldstone report…China should have a more visible position on this, rather than being satisfied with a tentative vote." In an unequivocal statement he said: "Genuine cooperation must include politics […] and should not be limited to building roads and schools. It is true that this is required, but international cooperation is not based on constructing buildings and giving aid, but rather through political positions." These remarks highlight one of Beijing's principal weaknesses in the international system: its systematic attempts to avoid taking clear-cut positions on global issues in an effort to please all sides. Sooner or later, Beijing's political passivity will begin to undermine its economic interests. Implicitly, Libya's Foreign Minister warns the Chinese that the countries and people of Africa (and the Middle East) expect more vigorous political support and, while they may appreciate China's economic contribution, they have no intention of becoming subjugated to the Chinese and prefer to keep their options open.

It is far too soon to eulogize China's Africa policy, one of the most remarkable success stories in global politics over the last two decades. China is not only heavily invested in Africa for many years to come, but most African governments and public opinion still appreciate the Chinese economic contribution, while overlooking its negative implications such as bad governance, corruption, human rights abuses and lack of transparency. Yet, there are initial signs that Africa's leaders are becoming aware of these shortcomings based not only on their historical experience but also on current international norms, greater visibility and demands for accountability.

China's corporate practices became sensational news that guaranteed immediate research funding as scientific evidence was necessary to demonstrate the problems that could result from doing business with China. The West, which has always used civil society as a tool of democratisation, loudly proclaimed the need for civil society's involvement in order to monitor China's errant ways.

Recently China hosted a China-Africa Civil Society Dialogue which I attended in Beijing. According to the organisers, this workshop was held in the context of FOCAC. The theme they maintained was on increasing mutual understanding, promoting exchanges and cooperation through various strategies that include developing a platform of exchanges and cooperation for NGOs from China and Africa within FOCAC. Given China's stance of non-adherence to the West's approach of imposing aid conditionalities on African governments, one questions what approach will be applied to civil societies. This is critical as most civil societies in Africa have now become an extension of the particular donor's foreign policy objectives.

The fact is international donors have always viewed civil society as a key ingredient in the processes of democratisation. The United States's foreign policy, which is steeped deep in promoting democracy in all corners of the world, viewed civil societies as a tool that could hold governments to account, serving as a watchdog on governments and thereby promoting governance.

The antigovernment demonstrators think France still pulls the strings, and while French officials deny this, their actions often suggest otherwise. In Gabon, where the election of an autocrat’s son dashed hopes for ending 40 years of rule under the Bongo family, Mr. Sarkozy’s man in Africa, Alain Joyandet, showed up at Ali Bongo’s pomp-filled inauguration, telling reporters that Mr. Bongo “must be given time.”

recently noted persistent human rights abuses by Cameroon

French officials have discouraged scrutiny of African leaders’ corruption, the fruits of which often end up in Paris. A French good-government group’s campaign to expose and recover the “ill-gotten gains” of three of the most notorious leaders — the late Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Congo Republic and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea — has been opposed by the prosecutor of the French Republic on the grounds that the group has no standing to sue, and that the facts are “ill defined.”

greater environmental sensitivity in China has had contradictory effects. Domestic environmental activists, working with sympathetic scientists and government officials, have had some impact. Chinese banks have explicitly adopted environmental guidelines. China imposed strict laws banning logging in virgin forests a decade ago, winning praise from environmental groups. But the ban on domestic logging spurred imports linked to excessive logging in Southeast Asia as well as Africa. China thus stands accused of supporting policies abroad that it rejects at home.

How does the re-branding of Africa as an entrepreneurial space fit with the persistently negative image of the continent’s people?

Some white commentators have even claimed that the US has entered a post-racial era, where racism was no longer a factor in defining who you are. I don’t think many African-Americans would have supported that claim, and certainly not those affected by revenge killings after Obama’s election and inauguration.

Sixty years of communism in the People's Republic has lulled some people into forgetting just what committed businessmen the Chinese have been for 3,000 years.

The Chinese are here and everywhere else to make money and let no-one forget that - ever.