China and Africa

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The African continent is often deemed the basket case of the world; overflowing with resources but vastly underdeveloped the continent is often ignored until it is needed to satisfy the cravings of the developed world. After achieving independence from the hands of its European colonizers, the continent was demarcated as a playground for the Soviet Union and the United States to battle for world dominance during the Cold War. Then the continent entered an era of financial bondage through economic assistance and “one size fits all” programs forcibly implemented by the Western nations. Many African countries have begun to lessen their debts, stabilize their economies, promote democracy and are on the track towards development. The continent seemed to finally be free of its colonizers and headed in the right direction but a new player has emerged. China is now heavily involved in various sectors on the African continent ranging from agriculture to resource extraction, is in search of markets for its goods, and resources to meet its increasing energy demands. China’s supporters claim that though China is hoping to meet its increasing needs, it has a serious commitment to helping the continent develop and continues to provide desperately needed economic assistance. Critics, mostly Western powers worry about its rising influence on the continent and label China as a neo colonial power (Eigen, 2011). The relationship between China and the African continent is rapidly evolving and makes it difficult to label China as a purely altruistic power or a greedy colonial power. The contemporary relationship is largely in favor of the Chinese and has striking similarities to previous European domination on the continent; only this time, African... ... middle of paper ... ...nt to use the money in a positive manner unlike the profits from gold and cocoa (Rupp, 103-130, 2013). Many of the citizens concerns have been proved to be legitimate because many of the oil deals made between China and Ghana are secretive and lack transparency (Rupp, 103-130, 2013). The last critic is driven from the results of African countries opening their markets up to Chinese goods. Locals in African countries are complaining of Chinese penetration into African markets that drive away local African goods. The quality of many of the Chinese goods produced is poor but they are much cheaper than the locally made item. Africans buy the cheaper Chinese goods and as a result, many local industries begin to collapse. This phenomenon can be spotted across various sectors on the continent from textiles in Nigeria, to furniture in Zimbabwe (Ighobor, 6, 2013).

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