The truth about China in Africa

Wang Hui
Chinese President Xi Jinping has just concluded a fruitful visit to Africa, during which he attended the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation where he announced an array of concrete plans for common development.
Closer ties between China and Africa cater to the interests of both sides, and will contribute to regional and world development. However, some in the West have again pointed a finger at China, accusing it of neo-colonialism in Africa.
In recent years, each time China and Africa have reached out to each other and deepened their reciprocal interaction, such groundless accusations have flared up, laying bare the West’s long-standing bias against the strong friendship between China and Africa.
The friendship between China and African countries was forged more than six decades ago. Over the years, the two sides have helped and trusted each other. Such a strong bond is time-honoured and unbreakable.
Today, the tree of friendship has grown and begun to bear bountiful fruit. Statistics show the two-way trade exceeded US$221,9 billion in 2014, a 22-fold increase over the figure in 2000.
At the same time, Chinese investments in Africa have accumulated to US$30 billion, a 60-fold increase, and the share of Africa’s trade in the continent’s total foreign trade has increased from 3,82 percent to 20,5 percent.
To date, China has completed 1 046 projects in Africa.
Thanks to China’s financial support, an estimated 5 675km of railways and 4 506,9km of roads have either been built or were under construction across Africa by September this year, along with other facilities such as schools and hospitals.
These projects have substantially improved the lives of African people and facilitated African countries’ socio-economic development, as well as providing convenience to Western companies in Africa.
China was a victim of colonial and semi-colonial rule in modern times and never wants to impose that on others.
It has been a staunch supporter of African countries’ pursuit of independence and efforts to safeguard sovereignty.
Unlike Western countries, it has never attached political strings to African countries, never interfered in their internal affairs nor made empty promises in its cooperation with Africa.
As such, the allegations of neo-colonialism are purely ill-intentioned.
As to other criticisms that China only wants to exploit resources in African countries and its projects in Africa have polluted the environment, they are unreasonable and unfounded.
It is known to all that the United States for years was the biggest consumer of African oil.
It imported more than a quarter of the continent’s total oil exports until 2010, when it began to boost shale oil production at home.
China’s imports of African oil only began to pick up after the US cut its own imports of sub-Saharan African oil in 2012.
Energy co-operation between China and Africa has always aimed at bringing win-win outcomes and helped promote the continent’s economic development.
According to the World Bank, an extra US$93 billion is needed every year over the next decade to bridge the infrastructure deficit in Africa, but Western countries alone cannot meet that huge demand due to their capital restrictions.
China has accumulated both rich experience and abundant production capacity in this regard, and its infrastructure projects on the continent have always taken ecological conservation into due consideration.
The China-funded standard gauge railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya is a good example in this regard, with a series of measures being adopted to protect wildlife sanctuaries from pollution.
In fact, Africa is big enough for China and the West to jointly pursue initiatives with outcomes that benefit African countries as well as themselves.
Instead of throwing mud at China, some in the West should improve their engagement with the continent in a more meaningful way. — China Daily.