By Andy Scott

Part two: Aid and trade

The train station in Mbeya, Tanzania stands out among the other buildings in the city. It is the nicest structure in the city, and it, along with the railway that runs through it, was completely financed and built by the People’s Republic of China.

Built between 1970 and 1975 at a cost of US$500 million, the TAZARA (Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority) Railway – running between the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia – was constructed as an alternative to rail lines via what was then Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe) and South Africa to landlocked Zambia.

“It’s quite a reputable railway, providing the only alternative mode of transportation between Mbeya and Dar. I’ve been to the station and it reeks of an outside corporation,” says Nicki Nelson, an independent economic development project manager in the region. “The only negative thing I heard about it, other than being constantly late, is that due to its slow travel, robbery is a regular occurrence as locals jump on and off and rob the rail riders.” (more…)

By Andy Scott 

Part one: The oilmen cometh

I couldn’t help asking him once what he meant by coming there at all. “To make money, of course. What do you think?” he said, scornfully. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness.

Foreign governments have been attracted to Africa for more than two centuries, greedily pursuing the continents’ timber, minerals and oil, more often than not at the cost of the people living there. Today it’s China that is most interested in Africa’s natural resources, leading critics to accuse the rising economic powerhouse of neo-colonialism.

Much has been said lately about China’s courtship of Africa. From Sudan and Darfur to the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, the growing Chinese presence in Africa illustrates Beijing’s desire to increase their global influence and create, as The Jamestown Foundation says, “a paradigm of globalization that favors China.” China has long portrayed itself as the leader of the third world, and as the country’s influence increases with its gross domestic product figures, Beijing has sought to cultivate its relationships with African nations, hoping to position itself better in the multi-polar, post-cold war world.

In this three part series, we will look at China’s emerging relationship with Africa - from oil and aid to soft diplomacy and African investment on the mainland. Part one looks at China’s chief import from the continent, oil. (more…)