China＇s economic and social ties with Africa have grown sturdily since 2000 and the shifts are so marked that, by 2009, China＇s share in sub-Saharan Africa＇s total exports and imports exceeded that between China an...China＇s economic and social ties with Africa have grown sturdily since 2000 and the shifts are so marked that, by 2009, China＇s share in sub-Saharan Africa＇s total exports and imports exceeded that between China and other regions in the world. Africa has as well received year-on-year increases in foreign aid from China as compared to Latin America and Asia. This paper seeks an analysis of the increasing economic and social ties between China and Africa. Employing the political economy framework, this paper uses secondary sources of data to rake out the benefits and the threats as well as the political dynamics associated with the ties between the two regions. The paper reveals that China＇s deep-rooted relationship with Africa is translated in benefits including foreign aid, Foreign Direct Investment （FDI）, construction of physical amenities and human resource development for Africa. However, enormous threats including loss of employment, deprivation of human rights and collapse of industries, which are being entrenched by various degrees of leadership deficiencies, are apparent. The paper concludes that the ties, in terms of nature and effects, do not essentially represent change from the already existing ties between Africa and the West but only represent continuity in the dependency syndrome with a new ＂benefactor-exploiter＂. The solution for Africa, as the paper suggests, does not lie in closure of ties with China but in a knowledgeable, willing and action-oriented leadership which can consolidate the benefits and reverse the threats emerging from the ties.展开更多
文摘China＇s economic and social ties with Africa have grown sturdily since 2000 and the shifts are so marked that, by 2009, China＇s share in sub-Saharan Africa＇s total exports and imports exceeded that between China and other regions in the world. Africa has as well received year-on-year increases in foreign aid from China as compared to Latin America and Asia. This paper seeks an analysis of the increasing economic and social ties between China and Africa. Employing the political economy framework, this paper uses secondary sources of data to rake out the benefits and the threats as well as the political dynamics associated with the ties between the two regions. The paper reveals that China＇s deep-rooted relationship with Africa is translated in benefits including foreign aid, Foreign Direct Investment （FDI）, construction of physical amenities and human resource development for Africa. However, enormous threats including loss of employment, deprivation of human rights and collapse of industries, which are being entrenched by various degrees of leadership deficiencies, are apparent. The paper concludes that the ties, in terms of nature and effects, do not essentially represent change from the already existing ties between Africa and the West but only represent continuity in the dependency syndrome with a new ＂benefactor-exploiter＂. The solution for Africa, as the paper suggests, does not lie in closure of ties with China but in a knowledgeable, willing and action-oriented leadership which can consolidate the benefits and reverse the threats emerging from the ties.
