China To-day.
China’s growth is driven by its internal market which is huge and expanding.
It is able to maintain its profitability, while its exports are more or less re-exports
of Chinese Taiwan and Hong Kong companies that have invested in China.
China has managed to engineer a transition from closed state capitalism
towards an export-oriented liberal capitalist model. China’s rapid growth
and cheap goods may overtake the USA as the largest manufacturing power
world-wide by the year 2012.
In the past, China’s presence in Africa benefited from a shared history as an object of
European Imperialism and its ideological commitment to anti-imperialism and national liberation. The earlier phase of Chinese-African relations was part of a global strategy
which saw some 15000 doctors and over 12000 agriculture engineers from China
serving all over the third world. China undertook socio-economic infrastructure projects
such as Tanzam railway between Tanzania and Zambia in parallel with western financed
road-system. Almost every African country today witness China’s presence, from oil-fields in the east to farms in the south and mines in the center of the African continent.
More than one thousand Chinese state-owned companies have invested in mining, fishing, precious woods and telecommunications and many other areas.
China’s relationship with Africa has changed from socialism ideology to a more aggressive self-interest in form of easy access to raw-materials, markets and spheres
of influence, through investment trade and military assistance, to the point China can be
suspected of pursuing the goals of a classical imperialist.
The first China-Africa bilateral trade forum was held in Beijing in 2000, since then,
the bilateral trade rose from US $ 10 billion to 40 billion. Its priority in Africa is :-
(1). To tap crude-oil resources with over 25 % of its oil-imports coming from Sudan and gulf of Guinea
(2).To pave way for market of cheap Chinese-made products.
(3).To create opportunity for investment in infrastructure, hydro-electric plants, pipe-lines
factories hospitals especially in potential markets where western firms are deterred by
political considerations such as sanctions or political instability.
While USA maintains oil-sanctions against Sudan, China has become Sudan’s trading partner of Sudan oil. China has built refineries, pipelines to boost production.
In Angola, China has provided low-interest rate loans which has encouraged Angola to resist IMF and USA pressure to improve transparency of its oil-sector and make other reforms in what has been described as the most corrupt country.
In Zimbabwe, China provided an alternative source of assistance and investment.
China delivered 12 fighter planes and 100 trucks to Zimbabwe army when the country
Was subject to a western arms embargo. China built Mugabe’s new 25 bed-room 9 million mansion and donated its special cobalt-blue roof tiles. China backed Mugabe
party in the last controversial election.
It is reported China supplied weapons including land-mines in Burundi and the Congo,
apart from sale of weapons to Zimbabwe and Sudan. Three arms factories are said
to have been built by China outside Khartum whose output was subsequently found
among arms captured by southern rebels.
Such Chinese capitalist boom is built on the back of brutal suppression of working class
at home. It has come as no surprise that Chinese helicopter gun-ships are used against civilians in Darfur. China gave massive military aid to Sudan.
China is thus seen to be expanding its sphere of influence by surrounding India with
a string of pearls to undermine India’s pre-eminence and potential rise as an economic power. China has given aid to Nepal Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar. China has
economic hold in Latin American countries where China has made huge investments in mines, power development, infrastructure and exports.
The possibility of Africa being the battle-ground between US backed western and Chinese interests is potential because China has already become an imperialist power.
Last Beijing Olympic was its cultural power and current its biggest ever World Expo
at Shanghai are its economic power manifestation of its growing imperialist status.
