China’s Presence in Africa
China has long been known as a nation that has been a part of every history of each country around the globe. The nation has been known as a friend to many especially in the field of trade and business. They have introduced Western nations to rare and exquisite Eastern culture, cuisine and resources only one can find in the region. For the Eastern nations it has worked with, it was the Chinese who have introduced Western merchandise and traditions. At present, the country is slowly becoming famous not only for its economic boom but also due to its rapidly increasing power of its influence in other countries. In the case of the United States, this particular influence of China raises alarm to some experts and lawmakers as it would affect not only the US influence but also the economic sector of the country. With the visible presence of China in one of the most highly impoverished region Africa, many argue that Africa will also be affected by the continuous entry of Chinese workers in the country. This paper will discuss why China’s visible presence in Africa would cause problems not only for the Africans but also for the Americans.
China’s presence serves as a threat mostly for the African population as the Chinese are starting to monopolize the labour and resources Africa could have used to their advantage and provide work for the people. In an article written by Baah and Jauch (2009). China’s trade volume Africa has reached up to $29-46 billion which continuously increases each year. Imports from Africa are worth $15.6 billion in amount, 90% higher than previous years. Many have noted that China’s presence in Africa is due to its oil and natural resources which are then reasons why it continues to h...
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...ern community and for the African region itself, it is crucial that the effects of this presence is slowly developing the region to enable it to sustain the millions who have been impoverished since the beginning and enable them to seek out developmental strategies that would help the region stand up and compete with the other developing countries around them. Many have noted that this presence of China in the region is not to be exaggerated. Nevertheless, if China’s actions is not closely monitored, checked and regulated; the hunches of both the concerned Africans and the United States may become reality and it may harm these two concerned groups more than what they have estimated. Africa is still a region that is slowly developing and raising more problems in the region may just affect Africa’s development and improvement, causing more people to be put in debt.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
In the global media and especially in the US print media, there is hardly a single day that passes without the mentioning of China and either its internal affairs, or its dealings with one country or the other. China has become a resounding theme in current affairs because of its new role as a sponsor and a facilitator of growth and development projects in developing countries. The one particular region in the world where China’s influence has recently grown to be pervasive is Africa. This influence however faces a collar-grabbing excoriation from the media, from the West and from the World in general. Conversely, sincere opinions from other onlookers are of deep praise for the good and needed support that China is currently giving to African countries. This dual view of China’s development work in Africa has led to a Ying and Yang identity for her, naturally, and may possibly be slowing down the full potential of Chinese investment and development projects on the continent. This paper in response, aims to bring forth a more crystallized review and understanding of China’s role in Africa by seeking out both the positives and the negatives in the enactment of China’s role, and elucidating whether it has brought forth growth and or development.
Every year, more and more money is donated to Africa to promote democracy in order to get rid of the powerful coups in many countries through out the continent. While the coups are declining and democratic governments are being established, the economic growth and development of Africa is not anywhere it should be considering the abundant natural resources and coastline that the continent possesses. Even though countries, like the United States of America, donate millions of dollars they are a large reason why Africa is underdeveloped economically. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is the most devastating event in the history of the world. Nearly 14,000,000 men, women, and children were displaced, sold into slavery, and killed by the trade routes.(
It seems China’s interest in African countries is not in territorial occupation, but rather in international prominence and expanding its rapidly growing economic agenda. Kenya’s richness in commodities and weak commercial laws are an idealistic setting for rapid market entry, therefore China has been able to effortlessly influence and expand its mercantilist ambitions without distress of competition from the west. Even though the United States is focused in providing conditional aid to Kenya, the effects of Chinese expansion in Kenya on U.S. interest are alarming, for China is offering cold hard cash that is f...
For the past twenty-five years, China has witnessed an overall increase in its domestic growth (Fischler 148). According to the article, “The Rise of China as a Global Power,” by Dr. Rosita Dellios, China “is the world's fourth largest trading nation, rising from 32nd in 1978 to 10th in 1997.” Similarly, China’s GDP is also second to the United States of America, generating 13 percent of the world’s output (Dellios). Since China’s introduction into the World Trade Organization in December 2001, its average tariff dropped from 41 percent in 1992 to 6 percent in 2001, becoming one of the most open economies in the world (Dellios). China is also the world’s fastest developing economy, obtaining an annual growth of 9.5 percent through foreign direct investment, low labor rates, emerging markets, and growth expansion. (Dellios). Therefore, the 21st century has been titled the “Chinese Century”, as China has become the second-largest international economy in the world (Ji-lin 15).
With Europe in control, “the policies of the governing powers redirected all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic dependence continues.” Europeans exported most of the resources in Africa cheaply and sold them costly, which benefited them, but many Africans worked overtime and were not treated with care.
Africa used to be a convenient battlefield between two global superpowers，the United States and the Soviet Union. In the cold war era, the continent was not taken seriously by the superpowers. However, different from the previous time, the African continent now is regarded as a vital battlefield due to its energy resources and other raw materials. China, India and the United States and other powerful countries are in the scramble for Africa (Volman, 2009). New emerging powers such as China are challenging and even usurping the western hegemony in Africa. In this paper, it will firstly introduce the formation of new scramble for Africa. Following this, it will take china’s oil hunger in Angola for example, to analyze the rise of China in Africa. Then it will analyze how the United States – symbol of Western Hegemony – respond to China’s threaten to it what it had done in Africa to solid supremacy in the continent. Finally, it will compare China’s activities with American measures taken in Africa, and find out how China is challenging Western Hegemony in Africa.
Priscilla. “The World Economy and Africa.” JSpivey – Home – Wikispaces. 2010. 29 January 2010. .
The investment of Chinese companies in Africa has advanced observably throughout the most recent five decades and in three different phases. At first, the connections were made between China and African countries as they picked autonomy. Later in year 1971, China was an official and permanent member of UN Security Council. The last stage blankets the post-Maosist period and is described by the liberalization and resulting development of the Chinese economy.
The massive increase in the Chinese trading relations was fueled by the United States in the year 1979 through the normal trade relations between the two countries. In addition, the Chinese non-concession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the year 2001 also facilitated its trading activities with different countries including the United States (Kaplan, 57). However, trading relations with the Chinese have been uneasy resulting from the massive trade imbalances in the recent past, which grows exponentially. The protectionist policies of the United States especially in Washington and Beijing have been putting pressure on the Chinese to revalue their currency as well as protecting it from counterfeits, which may be of adverse effects to the trading relations. This paper gives a comprehensive discussion on the foreign trade relations with china. It further gives an elaborate discussion on the impacts of foreign tr...
China has also expanded their trading industries with countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, ASEAN, India, Russia and Hong Kong. This has not satisfied the Chinese greed for income as they also export and import goods to American countries, name...
China's development is praised by the whole world. Its developments are not only in the economic aspect, but as well in its foreign affairs. Compared with other developed countries, China is a relatively young country. It began constructing itself in 1949. After 30 years of growth, company ownership had experienced unprecedented changes. Entirely, non-state-owned companies can now be more involved in sectors that used to be monopolized by state-owned companies.
Wei-Wei Zhang. (2004). The Implications of the Rise of China. Foresight, Vol. 6 Iss: 4, P. 223 – 226.
In the race to be the best, China is clearly outperforming the United States. China has strong economic fundamentals¬ such as “a high savings rate, huge labor pool, and powerful work ethic” (Rachman, Gideon. "Think Again: American Decline). Their economy has grown an astonishing 9-10% over the past thirty years; almost double of what it used to be decades ago. China is also the “world’s greatest manufacturer and its greatest market” (Rachman). The continuing growth of China's economy is a source of concern for not only the U.S. but surrounding nations as well. One could argue that the U.S. need not worry about China’s growth because of the spread of globalization and that western ideologies would influence China to turn to democracy. Yet China has still managed to “incorporate censorship and one party rule with continuing economic success” (Rachman) and remains a communist country. Hypothetically, even if China does resort to a democratic state, this does not gua...
China is one of the main viable candidates as this century’s new world power. Today, it maintains a strong economic stance within the international market, and is expanding at a rapid pace. The United States cannot maintain its position as hegemon for the rest of humanity; just as how ...