China’s African Odyssey

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: The oilman cometh 
July 23, 2007

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 part one of the series, we look at China’s chief import from the continent, oil. The demand for resources to feed its massive economic engine has sent China to Africa in search of cheap oil, cheap minerals, cheap anything. Crude oil imports have increased about 13 percent annually since 1994. In 2006, imports accounted for 47 percent of Chinese oil consumption. Read the complete article

Part two: Send lawyers, guns and money
Aug. 2, 2007

Today, Chinese construction projects can be found throughout the continent, building roads, railways, basic infrastructure that nations use to grow large. Critics argue that these are the mere side effects of China’s thirst for oil and mineral resources, and fail to raise the local population’s standard of living so much as the help the governments in charge stay in charge. It is this fact which critics point to when looking at China’s influence in Sudan and Zimbabwe to name but two. In this second part of our series on China and Africa, we look at what China is doing on the ground in Africa. Read the complete article

Part three:  Requiem for a New Africa
Aug. 13, 2007

China has been embraced as a new partner, for a newer, different Africa. Nations, fed up with UN and IMF aid packages that come with too many strings and therefore always seem to be blocked, are turning to China with its long-established foreign policy of “non-interference.” It is not only the international pariahs Sudan and Zimbabwe that are turning to China, in 2005 Angola refused to take a US$2 billion loan from the IMF for infrastructure development, preferring instead to go to China. Part three of our China-Africa series the Sino-African relationship, its current state, and possible future. Read the complete article