The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how the growing Chinese presence in Kenya affects the United States’ international interests. In order to do this, we must look at how China was able to create such a presence, what the U.S. did or failed to do to alleviate this, Kenya’s view on both the U.S. and China, and if the U.S. would benefit from expanding or decreasing economic investments in the country. While the United States has a long-standing foothold on the oil in Africa, China has been dominating the other natural resources available for the past 20 years (Bhorat 2013). Additionally, the current perception of President Obama in Kenya seems to have changed dramatically over the recent years. While much of the letdowns were due to high expectations on the Kenya’s population, the general consensus was that President Obama has not done much to help improve the current state of the Kenyan economy. The current programs in Africa are programs that were enacted or established by President's Clinton and George W. Bush (Mwangi 2013). This has allowed the Chinese government to move in and expand operations in the region. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...better relations with the host country, however they were just putting money back in their pockets. The stipulations for the loan to Kenya also included that all projects were to be awarded to Chinese contractors, despite the high reputation Kenyan engineers hold. This is creating a sense of frustration for the local populace and is likely hindering the local industry. Works Cited Bhorat, H. M. (2013, June 20). A Conversation on President Obama’s Trip to Africa (web audio recording). Retrieved March 29, 2014, from Brookings: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interviews/2013/06/20-obama-trip-africa-kimenyi-schneidman Mutulu, F. (2013, September 28). China’s strength holding sway over U.S. influence in Africa. Retrieved March 29, 2014, from The Atlantic Post: http://www.theatlanticpost.com/economy/chinas-financial-muscle-holds-sway-us-africa-influence-3676.html
China is an economic power and the U.S. behaves with china because of security reason and China has the biggest U.S debt. If China decides to call it in it will have a huge impact in the U.S. economy and it will destroy its own economy as well. China is the second largest importer and exporter of the U.S. trade deals. The U.S sees china as a security concern because it has become very powerful and its economy is really big which can start investing in its military and increase threat and destabilize region and to U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea. Furthermore, U.S sees china as a security because it has invested a lot in Africa because of its continental natural resources, and around 2007 the Congolese Government announced that China would bullied and refurbish rail ways, roads and mines in Congo at about $12 billion and china would benefit by mining copper ore and shows that it is dedicated to investing no matter how big the price tag would be in war torn countries. China has also invest in Nigeria by rebuilding its railroad system and is building a new railroad system. In Gabon it has paved almost 80 percent of its roads and Chinese firms are exploring for Oil and natural gas. The U.S and behaves negatively towards China as well because of currency manipulation and devaluing its currency to get and advantage in trade, as well as violations of Human Rights,
Bearing in mind that the threat of China’s dependency on imports of natural resources has the potential to threaten the official ideology of Confucianism, the real threat is to the interests of the state and the Communist Party of China, because the future of the party and stability of the country is dependent on the continued growth of the Chinese economy. Maintaining the flow of raw materials is the main objective of the PRC because without them the economic engine of the China would be at a stand still, which has the potential to be seen by the people of China as a weakness and flaws in the current governing system. China should continue developing trade relations and international connections because the PRC has been remarkably successful in creating a network of countries who will be loyal in business and political reform. China has has a strategic focus on building relations with nations whom America is not keen on. This has also perpetuated the realization the the Chinese system of governance provides a second option to the ‘Western Consensus’, as a viable means for successful economic growth coupled with strict government control. China must operate multilaterally to continue the trajectory of relation and loyalty building in other countries. This will assist china with the key pillar goals of, building a comprehensive national power; advance incrementally in order to consolidate a position of strength, and maintaining stability, and with the objective that China will be in the position to continue imports of raw material to Chinese industry in the event of a sea trade embargo from opposition countries like the United...
Lampton, David M. The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.
In this section, I will provide a brief history of U.S. military involvement on the African continent, starting with the Barbary Wars and working up through the current date. This historical documentation will highlight the change in the role the United States has played in Africa [post 9-11???]. Prior to 9-11, the United States’ interactions were mainly [capture summary here]. Since [?], however, the continent has faced a marked increase in violent extremism and terrorism leading the United States to partner with many African nations in counterterrorism initiatives. These, and other initiatives, mean an increasing number U.S. service members are deploying to Africa to take part in training, humanitarian issues and military operations. These military activities are run by United States African Command, a recently created combatant command.
China has a list of problems while maintaining one fifth of the world’s population. It covers around the same geographic area as the United States, but has twice the amount of problems, along with five times the amount of people. They have not had a lucrative past, and their future does not either. In order to fix such problems, the Chinese government has taken miniscule actions to further aid their country (Riley, China’s Population).
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
Bekoe, E. Ofori. “The Right Kind Of Revolution: Modernization, Development And U.S. Foreign Policy, Michael E. Latham.” Africa Today 60.1 (2013): 127-130.Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
The book, "China's Rise: Challenges and Opportunities provides a detailed look into China’s important role in the global arena. China’s growth in the past few decades has made it a economic superpower, however, with this growth, challenges regarding its internal and external policies, military modernizations and energy dependences have risen.
Additionally, in the book US FOREIGN POLICY, Michael Cox (2012) concluded that “China’s peaceful rise has largely consoled its neighbors and the United States that it remains a status quo power. However, as it has risen, there are some (perhaps an expanding number) who predict this will lead to increased regional and global competition” (p.266). Clearly, Michael Cox indicated the point that there might be more competitions in the future relation between China and the rest of the world no matter China rises peacefully or not. In particular, China and the United States will face many intense issues since they are the two giants in th...
Unlike countries with government spending money to advance in technology, Africa's government is fighting to stay neutral everyday. Just the cost of using technology they have is too expensive for the little time they are able to use it. For example, Professor Akwule in his magazine, Africa Commun...
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
American policies demonstrated narrow interest in Africa in the early 1950’s. As every move was suppose a strategic one soon after WWII, Africa was a low precedence harmonious to public needs. For solicitation, Michael Clough eminent that “American policy makers seldom gave pre-eminence to initiatives that did not attend U.S. Strategic share” during this period (Clough, 1). Africa held contracted value at this moment in time. Moreover, Henry Byroade, head of African affairs in 1953 bluntly say, “consider us be candid in allow our post in the puissance an...
It has been claimed that Western countries are becoming increasingly alarmed and uncomfortable by their deterioration of influence within African countries. This stems from the fact that they are aware that they are losing out to Africa’s resource rich opportunities, that are being made use of at large by China, who are progressively making ties with Africa, within a political, trade, infrastructural and natural resource-based context (Kermeliotis, 2011). Facts still remain that Western countries are still heavily connected to African countries, however the deepening Sino-African engagements are creating a “deep nervousness” in the west, says David Shinn, the former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia (as cited in Kermiliotis, 2011). The data that backs up this unease show that between 2001 and 2007, trade between Africa and China increased by 681% to reach $73 billion (Rich and Recker, 2012). Furthermore, according to the OECD, when 2009 hit, China overtook the U.S. completely as Africa’s biggest trading partner, whereas, back in the year 2000, the U.S. was three times that of China, (Kermelioltis, 2011) therefore showing the huge scale of the Sino-African relationship and the short time in which it has developed. All this does however raise questions as to how it is regarded and how this impacts Western countries, and their stance as current superpowers. There is an obvious awareness of the Sino-African tie, but what are the consequences of this, and how will things change as a result, specifically in terms of the West? (Glennie, 2012). The main areas of focus to be discussed therefore involve, how and why are Western countries losing out on inv...
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.