De - coding China - Africa Relations : Partnership for development or ‘ ( neo ) colonialism by invitation ’ ?

72 The World Financial Review China’s rapid economic inroads into Africa and the growth in its volume of trade with the continent from a mere $20 billion in 2001 to $120 billion in 2011, has attracted a lot of attention within Africa and among its traditional trading partners in the West. This is partly due to the contribution of Chinese investments, trade and partnership cooperation to Africa’s economic growth and its implications for Africa’s relations with the West and other emerging powers. The West has been critical of China’s rise in Africa, pointing to a “Chinese resource grab”, support for dictatorial and corrupt regimes under the guise of non-interference, and its use of non-transparent practices to ‘corner the African market’ (at the expense of Western economic interests) in the context of a “new” scramble for Africa’s resources and markets. In extreme cases some analysts have suggested the gradual emergence of a Chinese threat to Western interests in Africa, but these have not gained much overt traction. The debate around China-Africa relations has also been fuelled by the enthusiasm with which African governing elites have embraced Chinese investments and development aid, leading to speculation in some quarters about the prospects of Africa’s rejection of the “Washington consensus” in favor of a “Beijing consensus” based on the Chinese model of state-guided capitalism. Linked to this is the issue of what China represents for Africa: an opportunity/ partner for an (alternative model of ) mutual development or (neo) colonialism by invitation. China’s engagement with Africa is not new. However, most recent engagement gained impetus in the context of its ‘going out policy’ from 1998 onwards is increasingly linking China’s domestic socio-economic priorities and needs to its global strategic aspirations as a ‘soft power’. This implied, among others, the search for resources—raw materials and energy, and investments to feed its rapid socio-/manufactures, economic growth, markets for the industrial products, and diplomatic support for China in the global arena. Using the rhetoric of development partnership, mutual benefit and the history of South-South solidarity in its engagement with Africa, China has offered a mix of trade and investment incentives, aid and technical assistance, low-interest loans, and intense diplomatic exchanges with Africa’s leaders. In this way, China has positioned itself to capture the huge untapped African market and secure supplies of African oil and mineral resources that it needs to feed its rapidly growing economy. Oil alone represented 71 percent of Africa’s trade with Beijing. China’s three state-owned oil companies—China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)—have either acquired stakes in established African operations, or have entered into prospecting deals and exploration contracts with major oil producing countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Chad. De-coding China-Africa Relations: Partnership for development or ‘(neo) colonialism by invitation’? By Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi