Sino-African Ties Seen in Right Perspective
A recent report by the World Bank on China's relations with Africa is indeed inspiring. China has long been committed to an improved relationship with the African continent on an equal footing.
The report, entitled Building bridges: China's growing role as infrastructure financier for Sub-Saharan Africa, presents people a broad picture of the cooperation between China and Africa from a "relatively objective" perspective, as a World Bank official said.
With some persuasive facts and figures to support its conclusion, the report is no doubt a forcible rebuttal of those Westerns who have doubted China's motives behind developing ties with African countries.
Some Western critics always accuse China of plundering African nations of resources when mentioning the country's investment in the African continent, or accuse China of ignoring environmental degradation, corruption and human rights abuses in that continent. Some even describe China's activities in Africa as a kind of "neo-colonialism".
All these criticisms are completely groundless.
The World Bank's vice-president for the Africa region and former Nigerian education minister, Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, said: "Today, China's growing infrastructure commitments in Africa are helping to address the huge infrastructure deficit of the continent."
Sino-African cooperation is a win-win model and African nations with hard-won independence cannot be colonialized once again, he said.
His judgment is backed by the World Bank report. Statistics show China has been a financier of a lot of infrastructure projects across Africa in recent years.
In 2001, the country's investment was less than $475 million. In 2006, it was $7.05 billion and last year it was $4.50 billion. China's investments across Africa have effectively improved infrastructure facilities of these countries and helped raise the livelihood of their peoples, the World Bank report said.
It also refutes the accusation by some people that China invests in Africa so as to take advantage of the continent's resources.
The report cites China's import of oil from African countries, the main target of Western accusations, as an example. Of all the oil exports by African countries, 40 percent have been to the United States, 17 percent to Europe, while only 14 percent to China, it said.
Also, investment in the oil fields of African countries by Western oil tycoons was about $168.9 billion, while China's investment was less than $10 billion.
"The growing South-South cooperation is driven by strong economic complementarities between China and Africa," Vivien Foster, a World Bank lead economist and co-author of the report, said.
"China's growing demand for natural resources is matched by Africa's significant and often under-developed oil and mineral reserves," he said. "Africa's urgent need for infrastructure is matched by China's globally competitive construction industry."
China is not the only country strengthening investment in and cooperation with the African continent.
The World Bank report said India's annual investment in Africa has been about $500 million in recent years and the Indian government has promised to increase its annual investment to $2 billion. Arabian countries have also strengthened investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, promising no less than $500 million a year.
Compared with these new emerging economies, the aid commitments made by some developed countries have only proved to be lip service.
At the Group of Eight summit held in Britain in 2005, the club of wealthy countries promised an annual economic aid of $25 billion to Africa before 2010. The World Bank report said only 14 percent of the commitment has been fulfilled with less than three years left to the deadline.
Some Westerners nit-pick about Sino-African relations to protect their own interests rather than the good of African nations. In their eyes, the African continent is still within the sphere of their influence so they have reason to demonize China or find fault with its relations.
It is true there are some problems that exist in China's cooperation with Africa. There are issues such as how to make more ordinary Africans benefit from the country's aid projects, and how to effectively protect the environment, and the interests of the workforce.
"There are of course challenges which will need to be addressed by African nations and China coupled with the support of development partners," Ezekwesili said. "By working together, we can create win-win partnerships."
In fact, it is China's strengthened economic activities in Africa and its ever-growing contribution to the development of the continent in recent years that has led to the World Bank strengthening its cooperation with China on African issues. Its report is in fact the result of this tendency.
African countries have the right to freely use their own natural resources and choose their cooperation partners, Ezekwesili said when talking about the Western mentality.
It seems that those who are keen to criticize countries cooperating with African nations should bear Ezekwesili's remarks in mind.
The report, entitled Building bridges: China's growing role as infrastructure financier for Sub-Saharan Africa, presents people a broad picture of the cooperation between China and Africa from a "relatively objective" perspective, as a World Bank official said.
With some persuasive facts and figures to support its conclusion, the report is no doubt a forcible rebuttal of those Westerns who have doubted China's motives behind developing ties with African countries.
Some Western critics always accuse China of plundering African nations of resources when mentioning the country's investment in the African continent, or accuse China of ignoring environmental degradation, corruption and human rights abuses in that continent. Some even describe China's activities in Africa as a kind of "neo-colonialism".
All these criticisms are completely groundless.
The World Bank's vice-president for the Africa region and former Nigerian education minister, Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, said: "Today, China's growing infrastructure commitments in Africa are helping to address the huge infrastructure deficit of the continent."
Sino-African cooperation is a win-win model and African nations with hard-won independence cannot be colonialized once again, he said.
His judgment is backed by the World Bank report. Statistics show China has been a financier of a lot of infrastructure projects across Africa in recent years.
In 2001, the country's investment was less than $475 million. In 2006, it was $7.05 billion and last year it was $4.50 billion. China's investments across Africa have effectively improved infrastructure facilities of these countries and helped raise the livelihood of their peoples, the World Bank report said.
It also refutes the accusation by some people that China invests in Africa so as to take advantage of the continent's resources.
The report cites China's import of oil from African countries, the main target of Western accusations, as an example. Of all the oil exports by African countries, 40 percent have been to the United States, 17 percent to Europe, while only 14 percent to China, it said.
Also, investment in the oil fields of African countries by Western oil tycoons was about $168.9 billion, while China's investment was less than $10 billion.
"The growing South-South cooperation is driven by strong economic complementarities between China and Africa," Vivien Foster, a World Bank lead economist and co-author of the report, said.
"China's growing demand for natural resources is matched by Africa's significant and often under-developed oil and mineral reserves," he said. "Africa's urgent need for infrastructure is matched by China's globally competitive construction industry."
China is not the only country strengthening investment in and cooperation with the African continent.
The World Bank report said India's annual investment in Africa has been about $500 million in recent years and the Indian government has promised to increase its annual investment to $2 billion. Arabian countries have also strengthened investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, promising no less than $500 million a year.
Compared with these new emerging economies, the aid commitments made by some developed countries have only proved to be lip service.
At the Group of Eight summit held in Britain in 2005, the club of wealthy countries promised an annual economic aid of $25 billion to Africa before 2010. The World Bank report said only 14 percent of the commitment has been fulfilled with less than three years left to the deadline.
Some Westerners nit-pick about Sino-African relations to protect their own interests rather than the good of African nations. In their eyes, the African continent is still within the sphere of their influence so they have reason to demonize China or find fault with its relations.
It is true there are some problems that exist in China's cooperation with Africa. There are issues such as how to make more ordinary Africans benefit from the country's aid projects, and how to effectively protect the environment, and the interests of the workforce.
"There are of course challenges which will need to be addressed by African nations and China coupled with the support of development partners," Ezekwesili said. "By working together, we can create win-win partnerships."
In fact, it is China's strengthened economic activities in Africa and its ever-growing contribution to the development of the continent in recent years that has led to the World Bank strengthening its cooperation with China on African issues. Its report is in fact the result of this tendency.
African countries have the right to freely use their own natural resources and choose their cooperation partners, Ezekwesili said when talking about the Western mentality.
It seems that those who are keen to criticize countries cooperating with African nations should bear Ezekwesili's remarks in mind.
