Nguoth.com

Assessing China’s engagement in Africa: negatives and positives

1-Introduction:

This paper investigates China’s historical and more recent relationship with Africa. The discussion section of the paper focuses on the environmental impacts of this engagement, both human and natural. Initially, the literature review outlines the background to the issues of China’s current engagement; it investigates when China’s relationship with Africa started and what have been the stages in its development. The next literature examined relates to recent Chinese engagement in Africa and differences between past and present Western engagements. Following this, the paper examines literature that discusses the strategic objectives of both China and its African partners. It next introduces important elements in the theoretical frameworks that guide this investigation. The theoretical literature explores two main areas. The paper will mainly examine the issues from the viewpoints of critical development studies and (critical) political ecology, and focuses on broader structures and influences in Africa of China’s economic, political and cultural engagement. The research question first addressed in this paper is when did China’s relationship with Africa begin? The second question addressed is whether Chinese engagement in Africa is different from the recent past and current Western engagements? Next, the paper investigates what are the objectives of China strategic partnership with Africa for both the Chinese and African countries such as the Sudan and Zimbabwe. Finally, the paper examines the environmental impacts of China’s engagements in Africa and how a political ecology framework might assist in analysis of these impacts. To develop the discussion, I review the relevant literature on this relationship and undertake case studies of China’s engagement in Sudan and Zimbabwe before presenting a discussion of the findings from these case studies. 

2-Background:

Pham (2006) argues that, “in April 1955, representatives of 29 African and Asian countries including China held the first Asian-African conference in the Indonesian city of Bandung”. The conference witnessed beneficial outcomes for both African and Asian countries including China. The first major diplomatic victory of the Bandung conference was the adoption of two principles: 1-resistance to Western colonialism; 2-noninterference in countries’ internal affairs. The conference participants also called for economic and cultural cooperation among the newly independent countries. Furthermore, at the conference, a program of active support for the determination of dependent people against colonial regimes was established. (Pham continues argues  that,  following the Africa-Asian conference, China developed strong relationships with both already independent African states in 1956 and developing African liberation movements. China assisted both governments and revolutionary groups in Africa and nearly every liberation movement received arms, funds, and training from China at one point or another on the African continent. According to a more global perspective China’s early engagement also undermines the widespread notion of the international marginalisation of Africa in the past. It is clear that China’s support of newly independent African states and emerging liberation movements brought development, both economic and political. China’s relationship with African states is more recently active.

Overall, China’s engagement in Africa has been different and unique from recent past and current Western engagements. In particular, it has been one of development and of support for anti-colonial liberation movements. The unity of African states and China has often been to struggle for national liberation and China historically has played a significant role in promoting the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggles of the African people. It has been important for Africa and China to unite and work to drive Western imperialist powers from the African continent.

When did this relationship begin? After the 1955 Conference in Indonesia, China achieved its first major diplomatic victory in Africa. Following the conference, China began to offer economic, technical and military support to African countries and liberation movements with the intent of encouraging struggles of national liberation as part of a united international front against the West and against capitalism. China has also provided long-term assistance to the African continent. In return, African countries have rendered strong diplomatic support to China on many occasions. The aim was to strengthen China’s overriding foreign policy preoccupation on the broader strategic level that was to match the West’s status as the post-Cold War world’s leading political, economic and military power. As Pham (2006) argues, China and Africa share the same goals and interests in promoting the democratization of international relations. The next discussion outlines critical summary of China’s expending engagement and world perspectives on China’s relationship with African states.

3-Critical Summary:

Huang et al (2007) argues that” China‘s expanding engagement in Africa has captured world attention”. Furthermore, he supports the position that China has made significant contributions both to African liberation movements and in general to African development. China’s interest in Africa goes well beyond the continent’s wealth of resources and includes important political and diplomatic aspects (Huang et al 2007). China’s engagement in African, Huang argues, over more than 50 years, appears to have been a respectful and supportive relationship. Denis (2006) also points out the scope and significance of China’s engagement in Africa. He demonstrates that China’s engagement in Africa is one of the most recent developments in the region and yet questions China’s strategic objectives. On the one hand, China’s involvement has run counter to the otherwise international marginalisation of Africa and has had significant economic and political consequences. On the other hand, Denis argues, China’s involvement in Africa has contributed to political instability, economic exploitation, the strengthening of despotic military elites and the displacement of civilian populations from resource rich areas. However, supporting Huang,

 Perspective, Zhang (2006) argues China’s hunt for oil in Africa has been exaggerated by partly-informed commentators, based on erroneous information. He suggests negative commentary deliberately paints a distorted picture. China’s engagement in Africa should take into account many factors including Washington concerns, Zhang suggests, in particular when U.S economic and geopolitical concerns are reflected in the position taking of the wider international community. These three positions frame the contemporary discourse of China’s engagement in Africa. The following discussion undertakes an expanded critical review of the literature related to these issues. An array of alternative and contrasting perspective on the issue of China’s engagement with Africa is important to be examined. This review illuminates the impact of Western interests, and China’s in particular, on African development.

Several analysts of China’s engagement in Africa have described it as China’s need to secure access to energy resources in Africa. China has been successful in developing its access to African national resources. However, China’s African relationship diplomacy has also been roundly criticized in Western capitals. Luke (2007), for example, argues the link between oil companies and armed conflict in Sudan, caused by China’s engagement in Africa. According to Luke, multi-international companies have for many years played a negative role in Sudan. Sudan has been riven apart by political pressure from the central government. An alliance between the North Sudanese government and Chinese interests led to the withdrawal of Western companies, for example, US giant Chevron, Canadian flagship oil companies and Talisman, a European company. In return for its support, Large (2008) has argued the Chinese have supplied military hardware to the North Sudanese to implement the persecution of Southern Sudanese rebel forces.

Brookes et al (2006) also investigate the growing influence of China’s engagement in Africa. They argue that China has rapidly expanded its influence on the Africa continent through copious diplomatic, financial, and military assistance. Furthermore, Chinese led and/or funded resource extraction in Africa has resulted in conflict and economic crisis. In his article Kolinsky (2006) indicates trade figures show that China’s and India’s total trade with Sub-Saharan Africa has historically been small.” African exports to industrialised countries rose from 0.4% in 1990 to 2.3% in 1997”. However, after 2001, African exports to China have risen particularly rapidly. Total Sudan oil exports to China rose by 9% to more than 50% of Sudan’s overall production in 2005. The indirect trade links arising through Chinse participation in global markets are more difficult to assess. There is increasing Chinse participation in the emerging resource sectors, particularly in fragile states such as the Sudan. It become clear that China aid particularly in recent years has been growing and it appears to be carefully complementing its commercial activities. The core Chinese foreign policy principle of non-interference has, therefore, been drawn into question.

Bosshard (2008), China’s investment in Africa has led to the rapid expansion of China’s political and economic influence since the turn of the century. China’s Africa strategy has been to strengthen the African continent through economic development. This strategy has been approached by accessing resources which have so far not been exploited by the Europeans and Americans because  they were considered insignificant in size, geographically too remote or politically risky by Western companies. There are a number of conflicting perspectives over China’s strategy; these are represented by (Kolinsky (2006), Luke (2007), Large (2008) and De looy (2006). Overall, this paper argues that Chinese engagement in African has had both positive and negative results. To investigate these issues it is useful to examine two specific case studies: Chinese involvement in the Sudan and in Zimbabwe.

Case Studies: China in Sudan.

Luke (2007) indicated that, since the 1990s, Beijing has fostered strong ties with the North Sudanese government in Khartoum.      The Chinese role in Sudan has subsequently become more embedded and very influential. The Sudan is located in North East Africa; it is the largest country on the African continent with a diverse population of about 29 million people, comprising 57 ethnic groups, which are subdivided into 598 tribes. All of these tribes speak more than 450 different languages and dialogues. South Sudan and Darfur are replete with natural resources. The northern part of Sudan is mainly arid desert with no natural resources of any significant value and is inhabited by people who consider themselves Arabs and Muslim by race and faith respectively. The environment of the South ranges from green savannah land to thick tropical rain forests with extensive natural resources including water, forests, gold, iron, copper and oil. The South is racially African with borders that touch a number of ethnically African nations: Kenya, Uganda, the Congo Republic and Chad. It occupies an area of about one million square miles and is predominantly Christian and traditionalist by faith (Gray 1961, 1839-1889).

The current economic relationship between China and Sudan commenced in 1969 with the sale of arms to the Namarari Government. Ever since, despite China’s attempt to be perceived as a global human rights player in the region, the continued sales of arms have had a negative effect in the Sudan. This is most obvious in Southern Sudan and Darfur region where China remains the largest arms distributor.

Chinese national petroleum corporations’ exploration for oil has expanded steadily all over southern Sudan and the Darfur region. The Chinese in Sudan have become a shareholder, one that essentially controls Sudan’s energy resources as a main investor in Sudanese oil productions both in Southern Sudan and Darfur region. The Chinese however have become strong reliable economic partners with the government of Sudan. For example, China built a 979 mile pipeline from Nuer areas to Port Sudan where they built a terminal. Currently approximately 15,000 Chinese workers are living in the Sudan. The Sudan and its counterpart China currently are producing about 500,000 barrels of oil a day. However, the advent of Chinese investment in natural resources in the Sudan has resulted in the forced mass displacement of the Southern Sudanese local population from the oil fields and close to the pipeline. Furthermore, gross human abuses have become the order of the day in the areas where oil is being produced. The Sudan government has refused to allow relief and other humanitarian organizations to operate in the areas near oil fields. The adverse effects of this continued bilateral relationship has seen over 4 million Sudanese residents become displaced persons/refugees on both sides in South Sudan and the Darfur region.

Today China faces the challenge of accommodating its established policy of non interference with the growing complexity of Chinese investment developed over the past decade in Sudan, amidst ongoing conflict in western Darfur and changing politics after the North-South peace agreement. Large (2008) argues that China’s and Sudan’s friendship has been a constant refrain in the public discourse of official interaction since diplomatic relationship were established in 1959. It was clear recently that the Chinese government claims to be a responsible power that exerted influence on Sudan government to accept a United Nations Africa Peacekeeping force in Darfur. The non interference between China and Sudan appears to be conflicted however. De Looy (2006) point out the relationship between China and Africa has evolved noticeably over the last five decades. African nations’ relationships with China were established as these states gained independence, aided by China’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 1971.The Africans and the Asians aim to promote economic and cultural relations between the two continents. However, as history has shown, China’s engagements in Africa have also had negative environmental impacts alongside the positives in development terms. Africa’s and China’s strategic partnership has fulfilled the objectives of the 1955 Bandung conference that enhanced the unity and co-operation of Asian and African countries. The conference inspired both continents to fight against the colonial powers to achieve national liberation and both to play a significant role in promoting the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggles of the Asian and African peoples. Furthermore, China’s engagements in African are different from Western engagements. China‘s expanding engagement in Africa has captured world attention. Consequently, according to this paper, I argue that China’s engagement in African has both positives and negatives. The positives of this engagement can be seen in the example of Sudan that has become a oil supplier to the world market. However, the negative is that China’s support of African liberation movements has led to China supplying arms to the ruling parties of Africa, for example Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the Khartoum government in North Sudan that has resulted  in the displacement of civilian populations and human right abuses. However the big picture so far is one in which Chinese-African economic relations are widely unbalanced and tend to replicate Africa’s asymmetrical relationships with West.

Case Studies: Zimbabwe.

Joshua (2005) argues that “China-Zimbabwe relations began 1979, during the Rhodesian Bush war” .Furthermore China supported Joshua Nkomo’s government and supplied them with arms. Michael( 2005) suggested that, Robert Mugabe attempts to gain Soviet supported  that  leading him to enter into relations with Beijing,  in early  January 1979 follow by the meeting in Mozambique in which both sides affirmed their intent to cooperate more closely. In support to Joshua is argument, wines (2005) Indicated the two countries formally established diplomatic relations on 18 April 1980, the day of Zimbabwe's independence. Two months later, Zimbabwe's foreign minister visited Beijing to express wellness of keeping the relationship with Beijing. Later followed by Robert Mugabe’s visit to China.

Wines (2005) Mugabe values, most Zimbabwe’s relations with China, especially after the 2003 standoff with the Western. China supported Zimbabwe’s political isolation from the Western. Moreover China has been described as the only major international supporter of Zimbabwe, due to their principle of non-interference in internal affairs such as human rights issues However, there are increasing signs that China remains apprehensive about their relations with Zimbabwe and prefer to concentrate their political capital on countries with oil reserves.

Political Ecology

“The fundamentally political ecology of structural relations of power and domination over environmental resources have been seen by a variety of scholars as important of environmental processes “(e.g. Blaikie & Brookfield 1987, Bryant 1992, Bryant & Bailey 1997, Greenberg & Park 1994). In early work in geography, the environment was seen as an additional structural feature of the analysis, and subject to major, disruptive change due to the capitalist penetration of peasant societies. As Peet & Watts (1996:5) argues that, by the late 1970s there was no concern with market integration, commercialization, and the dislocation of civilian populations.  Although some of the pitfalls of adaptations and systems approaches were avoided, much of this work still accepted that-at least in the past-balanced, harmonious, and traditional systems existed, but that these had been disrupted by the forces of modern change Blaikie el at (1995) argues this theme has been taken up by more recent formulations of political ecology, which attempt to move beyond a structuralism perspective (feet & Watts (1996).This paper argues that, understandings of knowledge, power, and politics in relation to the environment important to be examines Because of its significant consequence in the daily lives. This paper has not taken on new understandings of political ecology, perhaps a gap that is increasingly commented on in political environmental impacts. Next this paper concluded by examining difference perspectives on China’exapanding engagement in African states.

Conclusion:

 Inclusion, China‘s expanding engagement in Africa has captured world attention. China and Sudan’s friendship has been a constant refrain in the public discourse of official interaction since diplomatic relationships were established in 1959. African and Asian aims have been to promote economic and cultural relations between the two continents. China’s African strategy has been to strengthen the African continent through development, especially economic assistance.A consideration of each theme points this paper need to look broadly across the political ecology.

First, on more conceptual issues, the increasing engagement has gone beyond the nature-recourses and becomes as a resulted of civilian displacement in their own areas. I argue that China’s engagement in Africa states particular Sudan has negatives and positives consequence in human geography.

Bibliography:

Bates Gill et al (2007).The Tenuous hold of China Inc.In Africa.

Blaikie, P. and Brookfield, H. (1987), Land Degradation and Society, London, Methuen.

Zimmerer, Karl (2004), Liberation Ecologies: Environment, development, social movements, second edition, Routledge, pp. 107-124.

Brant, R.L. and Bailey, S. (1997), Third World Political Ecology, Routledge, London.

Drew Thomson (2005). China’s emerging interests in Africa. Opportunities and challenges for Africa and the United States: African Renaissance Journal.

Denis M.Tull (2006).China’s engagement in Africa scope, significance and consequences. Modern Africa studies, 44-3 pp.459-479 Cambridge University press, United Kingdom.

Domingos Jardo Muekalia (n.y).Africa and China’s strategic partnership: University of the Transkei (UNITA).

Eisenmann Joshua (2005).Zimbabwe China’s Africa ally. Jamestown foundation. (n.c.)

Hany Besada et al (2008).China’s growing economic activity in Africa. National Bureau of economic research Cambridge MA.

Zhong Xiang Zhang (2006).China’s hunt for oil in Africa in perspective. East West road Honolulu USA.

J.Peter Pham (2006).China’s African strategy and its implications for U.S. interests. American foreign policy interests, 28; 239-253.USA.

Peter Brookes and Ji Hye Shin, (2006), China; s influence in Africa: Implications for the United States. Published by the Heritage foundation, Washington, DC.

 Luke Anthony Patey (2007), Third world Quarterly: State rule oil companies and arms conflict in     Sudan.28:5,997-1016.Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen Denmark.

  Repheal kolinsky (2006), the impacts of China on Saharan Africa.

Institute of development Studies, University of Nairobi.

 Van de Loony Judith (2006), Africa and China a strategic partnership. Africa studies Centre Leiden, the Netherlands.

 Bosshard Peter (2008), China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa. School of Advanced International Studies Washington DC.

Michael Wines (2005).Zimbabwe’s future made in China. International Herald. (n.c)