There are many reasons for Chinese success in Africa. But democracy could still be a trump card for rival India.
From the southern tip of their own continent and across to Latin America, Asia’s two rising and aspiring powers are set to compete for supremacy and the mantle of superpower status. But it’s in between these two points that the biggest competition between China and India is set to unfold. Forget Central Asia—Africa is the scene of the next ‘great game.’
The reason why the two will zero in on Africa is simple—both have burgeoning, resource hungry populations and rapidly growing economies. If they are to have any chance of sustained competition with developed Western economies, they will need access to the rich natural resources that Africa can provide.
China already looks to have a significant edge on its rival, with two-way trade with Africa set to top $100 billion this year, compared to about a third of that between India and Africa last year.
Beijing has, after all, been actively courting allies through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which since October 2000 has had regular summits attended by the Chinese premier and dozens of African heads of state.
And India’s response was a relative flop. It tried to follow in China’s footsteps by launching the India–Africa Forum Summit. However, at its first and only summit so far, in April 2008, only 14 African countries were represented out of a possible 53.
Part of the problem is that India’s External Affairs Ministry is still infused with what’s known in diplomatic circles as ‘Pakistani Syndrome’—an unhealthy focus among Indian diplomats at the highest echelons of government, including the national security advisor, on India’s western neighbour.
China’s African ambitions, in contrast, are not hamstrung by such regional concerns. Although the Chinese dragon is surrounded by what it sees as a sea of sharks wanting to curtail its influence in East Asia and the Pacific—namely India, Japan, Russia, the United States and Russia—it has a broad enough worldview and understanding of international relations to continue to focus on the valuable development of Africa.
Another Chinese advantage has been that many countries in Africa, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia and Sudan, feel a sense of obligation toward China after it helped them when they were confronted with the spectre of civil war following the demise of the Soviet Union.
After a surge of attention on the continent during the Cold War, the US and Russia lost interest in spending money in Africa, leaving instability—and space for China to step in. The gaps the two big powers left that China has sought to fill were big ones, with many African nations having depended heavily on their Cold War sponsors in the 1960s and 1970s for state-building assistance after securing independence from their colonial masters. Withdrawal pulled the rug from under any prospects for stability.
Photo Credit: Uniphoto Press
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Marco Hsiao
Diplomacy needs to consider the real history. The west European countries made ten millions of African black slaves, and tortured 1/3 of them to die in Europe’s ships in 17th and 18th century. It is worst record on violating human right, violating freedom and violating morality in world history. In 19th century, hundred millions of African people were slaved by immoral European countries, it is evilest invasion in world history.
Every suffering African country should get apology and compensation (US$ 20-40 trillion) from dirty European countries; the world must have human right, human dignity and justice. On the other hand, China and India both have far better record on human right and morality to Africa.
Confucius says “aid weak and assist fall is the responsibility of a great country” 濟弱扶傾; of course African people choose the better side and real friendship.
Xiaochen Su
“In addition, India can work creatively to counter China’s use of, for example, former Portuguese colony Macau to court Lusophone countries for trade by turning to its own regions like Goa (another former Portuguese colony) and Pondicherry (a former French colony that could be useful in nurturing ties with Africa’s Francophone nations).”
The difference between HK/Macau and Goa/Pondicherry is that the former has strong capitalist system and institutions left over from colonial rule while the latter has managed to have their vibrant colonial economy and identity completely destroyed with straightforward Indian annexation in the 1960s…
svetlana harris
China dispatches its secret weapon to Latin America
On the 31st of March, a little reported meeting took place in Bogota Colombia, between The President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and a Maltese businessman Shiv Shankaran Nair, President of British Borneo Holdings Ltd.
Mr. Nair , who reportedly spent almost two hours with the President and his team, was accompanied by his close friend and partner from Spain, Pedro Gomez de la serna Villacieros, a former Director in the Ministry of interior of Spain, under the People’s Party.
However our sources indicate that the reason for this hurriedly convened meeting was two letters carried by .Mr.Nair. Addressed to the President of Colombia from the Presidents of two of China’s largest companies, China Railways and China Harbour.
In the letters, Nair, was mandated to discuss with the Colombian President, the Mega Project to connect the Atlantic Coast of Colombia with the Pacific coast.
This project has been under discussion between the Governments of China and Colombia for some time, but without much progress, and it is interesting that the Chinese dispatched Mr.Nair to Colombia. Dubbed by the Diplomat magazine as “China’s secret weapon in Africa”, Mr.Nair has an impressive track record in closing Chinese financed projects in Africa. It will remain to be seen whether he can replicate this in South America. However, it can atleast be said that he has had a good start