Africa: China's New Continent

[dingyibvs]

Pretty good Article:

Africa: China's New Continent - TIME

Here's one of the interesting quotes, IMO:

We say, This country has huge potential." The key is long-term vision. "Yes, there is a risk," says Wu. "But in 50 years, we will still be here. So will Congo and the mines. Short term: sure, problems. Long term: not much risk."

This kind of long term vision IMO is what separates the Chinese government from many other governments around the world. China's vision doesn't change with the mood of the general populace from election to election, and is able to steadily maintain a path to realize its visions.

And this excerpt demonstrates why many Western countries are so out of touch with reality:

China's largesse, whatever the explanations for its arrival in Africa, has left a mark. As the representative of the Zambian Mineworkers Union at the Chambishi complex where 49 workers died, Mwinbe Stanslas, 45, might be expected to sound a note of caution about China's expansion. He does not. "I've worked for the British, the Americans, a Jew and the Swiss," he says. "They all closed. The way the Chinese are investing, they're not leaving. My boy will get a job in this mine, and his boy after him. China is taking over. And I tell you, it's a blessing."

They think people need good working conditions, unions, pensions, etc. but what people really need is food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a shelter above their head. Working under dangerous conditions is better than dying of starvation and malnutrition. They may argue any way they want, but people who have faced such abject poverty and utter anarchy say differently. No place the size of Africa can start from nothing and become a cushy place in a flash, there needs to be a starting point.

 

[PlanetWarrior]

That sure is a great way of attempting to justify colonisation, slavery and human rights abuse. Sorry buddy but the rest of world doesn't agree with the poor attempt at justification for the above

 

[dingyibvs]

There are some key differences here--colonization and slavery were forced, these deals were signed voluntarily by the Africans, in terms they agreed to. Check out my thread in China Defence regarding the Pew surveys and the popularity of China in Africa, you'll see if they can tell the difference.

Then again, you're probably an Indian born in a higher caste, you wouldn't understand the thinking of people who have had nothing, whose parents had nothing, and for generations have had nothing. Human rights? Don't make me laugh. Nobody's born with any rights, and anything you have is hard earned, if not by you, then by the people before you. Anybody demanding such luxury as human rights when people struggle to eat, cloth, and find shelter is just strutting its spoiled upbringing.

 

[dingyibvs]

Hey man, just noticed your sig, that's a good quote and very applicable to Africa. What the West has done for decades is to just give Africa aid, enough to cleanse them of their guilty conscious, but not enough to raise Africa from the depth of hell. What China is doing is teaching Africans how to fish. They're not giving away things for free, they're making them earn it, and through hard work and sacrifices, they can make more than aids can ever offer and better themselves through the generations as the Chinese have done since the late '70s. In fact, even in their payments the Chinese did not simply give them African nations wads of cash, but schools, hospitals, roads, and various other infrastructures that may benefit Africans for decades to come. You can label it colonialism all you want, but there is a difference, and the African peoples have taken notice.

Here's another article that helps my point:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2000002,00.html

Is China's role in Africa welcomed by locals? Despite some oft-repeated stories of occasional Chinese high-handedness in Africa, my impression from attendees at the Forum was an overwhelming "Yes." But wise observers of Africa still feel it incumbent to caution Chinese companies on the proper way to behave in Africa, and on the need to avoid the mindset of Africa's rapacious colonialists long ago. China in Africa, said philanthropist and former telecoms executive Mo Ibrahim, "should start from where the West ended — not from where the West started."

Good caution by Ibrahim, I think China is heeding that advice well.