The new big thing in Africa isn't America, it is China. And, for that reason African leaders converged on Beijing this week, writes Gamal Nkrumah On paper, at least, there is a plan. When African leaders headed for the Chinese capital Beijing this week for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation FOCAC, they were presented with an attractive package. China has pledged $3 billion in preferential loans to Africa and $2 billion in export credit. Beijing also plans to train 15,000 African professionals in China. It is estimated that some 2,700 deals were clinched during the first ever Sino-African summit that took place 4-6 November. In Beijing the race is on for courting Africa. China is well poised to furnish a fresh competitive edge for Africa's nascent economic recovery. The indomitable dragon economy has edged out the traditional Western trading partners of Africa. So long as China keeps sucking in Africa's minerals and energy resources, and so long as Chinese trade and aid is not conditional on good governance and structural reform, Beijing will be the major beneficiary of an African economic upturn. In return, China is prepared to play a more vigorous role in African development. In Beijing, Chinese leaders told their African counterparts that China is to set up a development fund to construct schools and hospitals across Africa. China is doing business with Africa as never before. The volume of trade last year between China and Africa was $42 billion, up from $10 billion in 2000, and it is fast growing. Unfortunately history tells us that things do not always go according to plan. However, the omens bode well in the case of China and Africa. One reason for hope is that the Chinese economy is growing in leaps and bounds. Economic prospects for Africa, too, look better today than ever. Growth is picking up in several African economies -- at least a dozen African countries have two-digit economic growth rates. African economies are at last showing encouraging signs of vigour after four decades in the doldrums. However, Africa still needs the impulse from benign foreign economic heavyweights such as China. In the main, China is perceived as a friendly power in Africa and unlike Western powers, there are no strings attached to its development aid and assistance. Every decade has its defining characteristics in Africa. In the 1960s it was political independence. The 1970s were characterised by military takeovers, dictatorships and one-party states. The 1980s were a byword for economic ruin, privatisation and economic deregulation. The 1990s were marked by democratisation, political reform and the introduction of multi-party pluralism. The distinctive emblem of this current decade is the entry of the Chinese in a big way into Africa. The Chinese penetration of Africa is essentially economic in nature, but there are important political undertones. For Africa, China is a political counterweight to the United States of America and the former European colonial powers such as Britain and France. Moreover, the Chinese do not pester African governments with demands for good governance, upholding human rights, economic deregulation, privatisation, democratisation and political liberalisation. The Chinese do not pontificate -- they do business. The spate of free and fair multi-party elections around Africa over the past few years has been heralded as the culmination of the continent's transition to democracy. Beijing, however, is not much bothered about the pace of African democratisation. The People's Republic, after all, is officially a totalitarian one-party state. Nevertheless, in spite of impressive African democratisation process, many African leaders harbour a sneaking admiration for Chinese authoritarianism. Ironically, for many of Africa's new democratically-elected leaders, China is living proof that autocratic rule sometimes yields economic dividends. In the final analysis, democracy does not automatically improve the lives of ordinary Africans. Freedom of expression, a vibrant independent press, and civil liberties in many African countries have neither done away with poverty nor put an end to corruption. Indeed, the current Sino-African affair does not look so out of kilter with historical norms. China's quest for natural resources inevitably drives it to search for raw materials and energy sources in Africa. So far, China's new-found popularity in Africa is an unqualified boon. China has become an invaluable ally to Africa as it finds its feet in the new world order. China is an economic giant in its own right. With almost a fifth of the world's population and an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of eight per cent for 2006, modest by Chinese standards, and a GDP of $9.48 trillion, China is unquestionably an economic superpower. And Africa is an exceptionally rich bonanza overflowing with minerals, energy and agricultural products. With a sixth of the world's population, Africa is also a potentially lucrative market for Chinese manufactured goods. That, too, brings with it a few worries. Put it this way, China's surging exports to Africa, especially cheap Chinese textiles, are cause for concern for many Africans as they are ruining the budding African textiles industry. Even the most enthusiastic champions of Chinese involvement in Africa are nervous of speaking out too much in favour of China.
