adminI do not readily subscribe to his views. Instead, I believe that China’s co-operation with Africa should be applauded.
Skills-transfer
The governor accused Chinese companies in Africa of importing equipment and labour from home.
As much as I know, the Chinese government all along encourages Chinese companies to use local equipment and labour.
Let us put things into perspective. The reality in Africa is that a lot of equipment is not available locally and costs much more if imported from the markets other than China.
Using Chinese equipment is for now a cost-effective way of production.
In some cases, Chinese workers are sent to work in Africa. It is because the Chinese companies have no other choices if they want to facilitate the progress of certain projects.
In fact, recruiting local employees has been routine for Chinese companies in Africa.
A report issued by the Standard Bank of South Africa indicates that, with very few exceptions, local labour now accounts for 85 percent of the total employment in the Chinese companies in Africa.
Ms Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist, believes that the ratio of local employees to Chinese workers in Zambia has exceeded 13:1.
The Chinese government has also stepped up efforts in transferring skills to Africa.
It has trained more than 10 000 African professionals in various sectors and offered 6 000-plus government scholarships for Africa each year.
Industrialisation
Accusing China of de-industrialising Africa is unfair. China has worked hard to help promote Africa’s industrialisation.
As far as I know, the Chinese government has launched a series of initiatives, including the China-Africa Development Fund and China-Africa Economic and Trade Co-operation Zone, to encourage enterprises to invest in Africa.
China has also introduced several large-scale financing programmes to help Africa develop its manufacturing sector.
That said, however, China-Africa co-operation in the manufacturing sector cannot rely on the government alone.
Entrepreneurs’ enthusiasm, African countries’ investment environment and the change of international division of labour should all be taken into consideration.
With its rising labour cost, China’s manufacturing sector has started to relocate to other countries.
African countries, as well as many other countries all hope to take advantage of this tendency. Frankly speaking, if African countries fail to provide competitive investment incentives and skilled labour forces, they will probably miss another good development opportunity.
Trade
African consumers are free to choose what to buy. China has never acted like the Western colonists by forcing African people to buy Chinese products.
As a matter of fact, trade between China and Africa has brought concrete benefits to African people.
I was told by my African friends that, thanks to the Sino-African trade, their dreams to own mobile phones, TV sets and vehicles have finally come true.
It is unfair to blame China’s trade policy for the de-industrialisation of Africa.
According to the statistics of a well-known international institute in the US, the trade similarity index between China and Africa is as low as 4-7 percent.
A couple of years ago, to make more room for African products in the market, China voluntarily cut back its textile exports to certain African countries. But it eventually turned out that the market share China had given up for Africa was seized by non-African countries.
Energy and resources
Africa’s rich endowment in energy and resources is its major comparative advantage. It should be transformed into Africa’s development advantage. Co-operation with China offers an opportunity in this regard.
But if one thinks China’s co-operation with Africa only focuses on the oil and minerals, that is a lopsided view.
Deborah Brautigam, an American scholar, argues that the infrastructure facilities built by China in Africa are obviously not a step in some grand plan to grab resources.
An African diplomat admitted that the Chinese are trying to participate in different areas of our economy, but the Western countries’ interest is only in oil, oil, oil, and nothing else.
China’s imports of oil from Africa only account for about 17 percent of Africa’s total oil exports, much lower than that of the United States and Europe.
In its energy co-operation with Sudan, Chad and Niger, China has helped them put in place a complete set of oil industry system, which the West will never do for Africa.
As an official with Africa’s largest oil producing country, Mr Governor must be very clear about it.
All in all, China has been and will always be Africa’s good partner for development.
The blame Mr Governor has placed on China is unfounded and misleading. China and Africa need to work together towards the same goal to bring more benefits to both sides.
l Qu Xing is the president of the China Institute of International Studies
Online Reporter