China’s Africa interests clearly not neo-colonial
IT’S ironic that some Western countries which are former colonial powers have accused China of pushing a “neo-colonialism” policy in its trade with Africa.
The accusations of “China’s neo-colonialism in Africa” simply lack basis in fact.
“Statistics show China’s share of Africa’s total oil exports last year was only around 9 percent, compared with 36 percent for Europe and 33 percent for the United States,” said Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai at a news conference in Beijing last week.
“If an 8.7 percent share could be suspected as an act of plundering resources, then what about 36 percent and 33 percent?” Bo asked.
Indeed, many Western companies are busy drilling around the continent for oil, often with complete disregard for the environment.
Chevron Texaco has invested US$5 billion in African operations over the last five to six years, and it plans to invest US$20 billion more over the next five. Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it would double its investment in African oil fields over the next five years.
Such heavy investments have resulted in the large shareholdings in African oil production by Western oil giants.
In Nigeria - the world’s sixth largest and Africa’s largest oil exporter - 2.5 million barrels of oil are produced every day, of which Western oil companies hold a stake of 95 percent.
In Equatorial Guinea, Exxon Mobil alone holds a 70 percent stake of the country’s total oil production.
Prolonged exploitation of Africa has brought billions of dollars in profits to Western oil giants, with local people only being met by poverty and pollution.
Without sufficient investment in infrastructure, the area suffered disastrous consequences.
Pipelines often break, with oil spilling and self-igniting. Fires have ravaged farmlands and forests, pollution affecting the air, soil and water.
Environmental degradation coupled with growing resentment at the uneven distribution of profits has helped exacerbate the problems of violence in the region, with young, unemployed Nigerians increasingly attacking oil facilities and abducting personnel.
The situation in Nigeria is widespread across the African continent, only serving to remind people of the days of the European empires, when they went to Africa with guns and left with treasure.
A win-win deal
Chinese enterprises, on the contrary, are not just doing business with Africa, they are doing good in Africa.
Chinese companies have helped Sudan and Angola improve their oil industries. One result was a 9 percent growth in Sudan’s economy last year.
While young people in the oil-rich Niger Delta cannot easily find jobs with the oil industry, China National Petroleum Corporation has employed more than 11,000 local Sudanese.
Chinese companies have also built hospitals, railways and other infrastructure projects in Africa.
In last year’s inaugural Sino-Africa summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to double aid to Africa by 2009 and create an investment fund of US$5 billion.
President Hu brought extra aid, debt cancellation and development projects to all eight of the countries that he visited last month.
“What is neo-colonialism? There has never been a clear definition for it,” said Xu Weizhong, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. “Without any definition, you can blame any action as a colonialist practice.”
As Xu said, colonialists seek political control and the economic monopoly of a country.
Chinese companies have never sought political control or economic monopoly in Africa, as did and do some Western nations and corporations.
Ren Ke, Shanghai Daily
(The author is a senior writer at China Features of Xinhua news agency. Shanghai Daily edited the article for length.)