Xinhua:
Chinese President Hu Jintao Thursday vowed to increase aid to African countries, cancel part of their debts, and expand trade with and investment in these countries.
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While AlQaeda pulled off one horrific attack and may be capable of one or two more, the fundamental threat to our way of life and our influence around the world comes from a country on the cusp of becoming a world economic power and thus political power.
The economic and political penetration of the world (Iran, Arab countries and Africa) isn't a surprise to those who are looking at the real strategic challenges to the USA.
China will invest in any country where they can take advantage of, and get the natural resources they need to power their country (oil), and other resources such a minerals, and even agriculture to benefit the ever growing population of China.
As long as the African are being smart, are a not selling off ALL their non-renewable resources, and instead are making smart, well planned out decisions that will benefit all their people in their perspective countries, and making sure that the it is NOT just the powerful who run the government, who are getting all the benefits from trade with China, then this is a good thing for the African continent. Let's hope that the leaders of the African countries are indeed looking out for the welfare of their entire population, and are not just selling their resources for some pretty little trinkets for those powerful few at the top.
This is cool as long as they don't put them in economic strangulation like the IMF and World bank did.
What is wrong with this picture , China in Africa
America is there, Europe is there, Lebanon, Syria, Brasil is there. Why shouldn't China be there? Is it only America and Europe who must steal from us? Shouldn't they expect competition?
Way to go Akena. To the point. I only hope that African leaders negotiate intelligently and with an eye to the future for their own people and not the pocket books of the few.
African countries MUST resist aid and opt for TRADE...this is so ridiculus! China will want a bigger payback probably to re-locate some chinese d/t over-population in China...hope the west is closely watching this b/c Russia is also on the hunt in S.America and Eastern Europe!
Oh please, just do some reading on the subject; Angola, for example is an extremely rich country in natural resources - oil, minerals, gas, diamonds, agricultural, fishing and forestry products. China's investment has nothing to do with aid but with trade in a region that the central countries forgot exist.
Morally speaking we've got nothing to lecture others about. African countries owe us money that they truly never borrowed because the money was lent to our puppets and dictators that we help maintained in power in places like Zaire (Mobutu), Angola (Savimbi the rebel leader), Rwanda (Murderer Kagame) etc. Maybe the Chinese approach of trade will make a decent difference.
Hear, hear.
Heh. Should be interesting to see how this would play out.
Exactly. So far, China's partnership with Angola, for example, has been working quite well.
It's bought most of Angola's foreign debt and, unlike other trade partners in the past, has been investing in infraestructures - electricity, roads, communication, sewage, etc. The result has been an economic growth of, respectively, 18.6, 23.4, 13.2, for 2006, 2007 and 2008. for the next 5 years, the prediction is of an average 9% annual growth.
It's still early to measure the impact upon the general living condition on a population that survived a long civil war (it's certainly early to reflect on the country's HDI), but all the reports and accounts I read, and the testimonies I hear, point to a positive balance.
China is not the West and, because of that, it does not do business the same way; their history is different, their philosophy and cosmology is different, and so is their approach to these partnerships, which seem to be more symbiotic than parasitic in nature.
But what is China getting in exchange for canceling Angolan debt? Nobody ever does anything for nothing...I just hope African nations do not buy foods, drugs (fake ones) and other tainted products from china.
One day Africans will realize that only they can help themselves. Until then they'll continue to rely on people who are at the least most interested in the country's natural resources and at most, contemptuous of the people themselves. Africans think they can't trust the West? I don't know how they think they can trust the East any better.
so because africa wishes to trade with china it means they dont know or want to help themselves? what nonsnse. doesnt the US trade with china. africa hasnt stated any intention not to trade with the west, but trading with the east and the west breeds competition thats good for africa.
You are so right. The solution to Africa's problems is a continental union government, just like the U.S.A.
Africa and Africans needs to be really careful when dealing with China.
I totally agree...
Why do they have to be careful? Because this may hurt USA's interests in the region?
China is a resource hog, and Africa is more than willing to supply whatever China needs in return for some investment. So, African countries are probably looking out for themselves. Of course, a lot of money that China throws at certain countries won't go anywhere productive but end up in politicians' bank accounts instead. That certainly is a strain on progress that these countries can make, but they still make progress. There certainly aren't many better options out there for them at this point.
No because Chinese presence in Africa may hurt Africa's interest. Screw the US. But China isn't any better. African countries aren't looking out for themselves, African leaders are looking out for themselves and the Chinese know this and are perfectly willing to exploit it. Which isn't particularly their problem. Business is business. But I wish the Chinese would stop acting like they're doing African countries some big favor by taking advantage of countries whose leaders are more than happy to sell out their people and their nation for material gain.
Here's the type of progress they'll bring. China will bring 50,000 jobs to an area. 45,000 of which will go to Chinese that follow the jobs. Management posistions and the ability to move up in any companies will be reserved for the Chinese. The bottom 5,000 jobs will go to Africans who will be treated like crap by condescending Chinese workers/management who think they're less than dirt, they'll be over worked, and most likely underpaid on top of that. These African workers will not be eligible for management posistions, and they will not move up in the companies. Very little revenue made from these companies will go to building African infrastructure, creating more jobs, raising the standard of living, etc.
The Chinese are no better than the US, Brits, French, etc. They simply lie just as well and get upset that no believes their BS anymore than they do themselves
The only thing Africa will find is another country taking their resources while they wind up with the short end of the stick. Are Africans partly or even mostly to blame for this? Yes. But China is no friend.
Thanks for this story from Xinhua. Debt cancellation will go far to "seal the dea" in Africa. It shows that China has been listening. I wonder if the US and the other G7 economies can match this effort?
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First Posted: 02-13-09 11:19 AM | Updated: 03-16-09 05:12 AM