Elvis Muraranganda

As the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China looms, it is important to review and put into perspective, China’s role in Africa, which has been making rounds for different reasons and how the Africa young men and women, can benefit from relations.  

From the onset, let us understand that China’s ability to leap out of chronic poverty a few decades ago onto a path towards economic prosperity and emancipation of its entire population, is a monumental achievement by any standards. 

It is these lessons that China is sharing with Africa, which is also a recipient of that Asian nation’s foreign development assistance. A continent, just like China, has been ravished by the same decades of long misfortunes and this has crafted the delicate relationship between China and Africa.

Historical perspective 

Let us pause and note at this stage, that the Berlin Conference of 1884 led to the ‘Scramble for Africa’, chopping up of the continent into separate countries for illegal occupation and setting up the Africa for socio-political and economic exploitation by European countries. It was that conference that permanently altered the DNA of the African continent, pioneering the misery of our Africa. 

On the other hand, China’s role in Africa goes back many years, when China supported the liberation struggles of the African people as they fought vehemently to release themselves from the yoke and tentacles of oppression under colonial administrations. 

In Namibia, China, alongside Russia and Cuba, supported the military wing of Swapo and PLAN, in our protracted armed liberation struggle that started in 1966 and with most of the countries it supported to gain independence, China continued to maintain mutual relationships with those nations, now partnering with them economically. 

With the demise of the Cold War and the tilting of the geo-political setup of the world, China stepped up her involvement in Africa beyond those countries that it had interactions with prior to the end of the Cold War.

China’s newfound wealth 

China’s economic prosperity came at meticulous planning and implementation with impressive precision. What gave impetus to the Chinese economic turnaround, were many years of hard work that saw it investing in massive agrarian reforms and heavily in technology. 

The newfound wealth created both fear and hope for many around the globe, especially among countries like the United States of America and some of its European allies who for years exercised a high degree of dominance over most of the world because of their political and economic might. 

However, for Africa and the majority of the developing countries; China’s newfound wealth is a great reason for celebration. Where they were denied much-needed financial assistance and targeted investments in terms of foreign direct investments (FDIs), they now stand a great chance to get massive support from China as well as skills transfer in the agriculture and technology sectors, through various exchange programmes. 

China’s own perestroika and glasnost 

Like the USSR under Michael Gorbachev, China started its own perestroika and glasnost, which literally meant restructuring and opening up. Similarly, China, a socialist country started to pursue a mixed economic system. 

It was this system coupled with meticulous planning and precision in implementation of those plans that brought China to where it is today. China too created a lot of opportunities for Chinese nationals altering all the segments of the world economy. As more Chinese became empowered, they started to travel more abroad. 

In fact, the Chinese travellers have taken the world by storm, forcing the whole world to adapt this new group of tourists. There is more Chinese language being taught around the globe, more Chinese cuisine and more Chinese-inclined businesses to support this ever-growing market. 

However, what is so pivotal to note is the fact, that due to its massive gross domestic product (GDP) and the huge development budget; China is able to forge lucrative bilateral and multilateral agreements with both developing and developed countries. 

In Africa, China continues to pursue a multi-pronged approach to quench its economic expansion. 

Apart from that, China is engaged in multilateral agreements such as the BRICS where Africa and other countries are getting access to funding aimed at development. With opening of the BRICS Bank in South Africa and the injection of over US$100 billion in that bank, China is without a doubt outspending all its rivals. 

However, while Africa welcomes China’s assistance, concern is looming amongst some countries around the world over the ever growing Chinese investments on and attention to the African continent. 

Although China’s role in Africa have created both hope for Africa and fear among those antagonistic towards these relations, it is key that the African youth maximise and take full advantage of opportunities of these engagements, especially in the 4IR sector, robotics, internet of things etc, an area which China has fully advanced in.  

China’s agronomics remains a huge learning platform for Africa, if we are to lead many of our continent’s people out of poverty to improved standards of living.

Lastly, it is of paramount importance for both China and Africa to continue managing these relations for mutual benefit. 

It is also imperative that both sides also continue addressing thorny and uncomfortable issues openly via dialogue. 

Happy 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. 

*Elvis Muraranganda is an alumni of the China-Africa Press Centre fellowship programme, a media personality with over 13 years’ experience and a communications consultant.