“China has become the most confident and assertive commercial player in Africa.
It appears that China will over time displace Western commercial interests and
political influence on the continent. But China is not the new coloniser. It is an
expanding global power toward which Africa must pragmatically align itself.”
(Dr. Martyn J. Davies, Director, Centre for Chinese Studies).
Sino-African trade sextupled from 1998 to 2005 to $1 36 bn (Schüller and Asche,
2007: 4) and on a conference in Beijing in 2006 China’s Premier announced the
aim to increase the trade volume to $ 100 bn in 2010 (Hui, 2006). These figures
represent China’s growing engagement in Africa. But it is not quite clear if
China’s impact on Africa is positive or not. One point of view, of which the quote
presented above is a part, is that China’s engagement has the potential to increase
Africa’s importance in the global economy and to significantly reduce poverty on
the continent. Whereas others heavily criticize Beijing’s approach towards the African
countries and claim that China is nothing but a new coloniser.
The purpose of this study is to conduct a descriptive analysis of China’s impact on
Africa. We therefore first describe China’s economic and strategic interests in Africa.
After this, we are going to present negative and positive effects of China’s
engagement in Africa and try to reveal a general tendency in the nature of China’s
impact on Africa. Before giving some concluding remarks, we will compare
China’s approach towards development aid, the so-called Beijing Consensus, with
the Washington Consensus, which can be characterized as the approach of the
western world, because this is an increasing ideological conflict with important
consequences for Africa (Sautman, 2007: 21).
As this is a descriptive analysis rather than an empirical study, we are not going to
present any hypothesis.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- 1. INTRODUCTION.
- 2. CHINA'S ECONOMIC INTERESTS IN AFRICA....
- 2.1 SINO-AFRICAN TRADE..
- 2.2 CHINA'S QUEST FOR OIL AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES.
- 2.3 NEW MARKETS
- 2.4 NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
- 2.5 DEVELOPMENT AID
- 3. CHINA'S STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL INTERESTS IN AFRICA
- 3.2 THE \"FIVE PRINCIPLES OF PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE\"
- 3.2 ONE-CHINA-POLICY.
- 3.3 AFRICAN STATES AS IMPORTANT ALLIES TO ACHIEVE CHINESE GLOBAL INTERESTS
- 3.5 CHINA'S STRATEGY TO ESTABLISH LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES
- 4. IMPACTS OF CHINA'S ENGAGEMENT IN AFRICA
- 4.1 POSITIVE IMPACTS..
- 4.2 NEGATIVE IMPACTS....
- 5. BEIJING CONSENSUS VS. WASHINGTON CONSENSUS.
- 5.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS.
- 5.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEIJING CONSENSUS
- 5.3 AID, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
- 6. CONCLUSION
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study aims to provide a descriptive analysis of China's impact on Africa. It begins by outlining China's economic and strategic interests in the continent, exploring the characteristics of Sino-African trade, China's pursuit of oil and other natural resources, and Africa's role as a new market and investment opportunity. The study then examines the positive and negative effects of China's engagement in Africa, striving to identify a general trend in the nature of China's impact. Finally, the study compares China's approach to development aid, known as the Beijing Consensus, with the Washington Consensus, the approach adopted by the Western world. This comparison highlights an increasing ideological conflict with significant consequences for Africa.
- China's Economic Interests in Africa
- China's Strategic and Political Interests in Africa
- Impacts of China's Engagement in Africa
- Beijing Consensus vs. Washington Consensus
- China's Role in African Development
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the topic of China's growing engagement in Africa, highlighting the contrasting perspectives on its impact. While some view China's involvement as beneficial for Africa's economic growth and poverty reduction, others criticize Beijing's approach as a form of neo-colonialism. The chapter outlines the study's objective, which is to conduct a descriptive analysis of China's impact on Africa.
- Chapter 2: China's Economic Interests in Africa This chapter examines the economic motivations behind China's engagement with African countries. It analyzes the characteristics of Sino-African trade, focusing on the significant growth in trade volume and the changing nature of goods exchanged. The chapter further explores China's demand for oil and other natural resources as a key driver of its interest in Africa, along with the potential for new markets and investment opportunities for Chinese businesses.
- Chapter 3: China's Strategic and Political Interests in Africa This chapter delves into the strategic and political aspects of China's engagement with Africa. It explores the "Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence" as a guiding framework for China's foreign policy, and discusses the significance of the "One-China-Policy" in China's relations with African states. The chapter also examines how China views African countries as important allies in achieving its global interests and outlines China's strategy for building long-term relationships with African nations.
- Chapter 4: Impacts of China's Engagement in Africa This chapter assesses the positive and negative impacts of China's engagement in Africa. It examines the benefits brought by China's investments, infrastructure development, and trade partnerships, while also acknowledging potential drawbacks such as environmental concerns, labor exploitation, and competition with local businesses.
- Chapter 5: Beijing Consensus vs. Washington Consensus This chapter compares China's approach to development aid, the Beijing Consensus, with the Washington Consensus, the approach adopted by the Western world. The chapter explores the distinct characteristics of each approach, analyzing their respective impacts on aid, growth, and development in Africa.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key terms and topics explored in this study include China's economic interests in Africa, Sino-African trade, oil and natural resources, investment opportunities, development aid, the Beijing Consensus, the Washington Consensus, strategic and political interests, the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, the One-China-Policy, positive and negative impacts of China's engagement, and China's role in African development.
- Quote paper
- Martin Mittelstädt (Author), Björn Bornemann (Author), 2007, China's distinctive links with Africa, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/93866
