What is China doing in Africa

China’s expansionism in Africa has been happening for decades through infrastructure and trade deals. It has bypassed the US in the region but may have ulterior motives. 

For years, China has had its eye on Africa. During the Cold war, with a rise in tensions between Beijing and Moscow, China was able to establish strong relations with a number of African States, such as Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Sudan. It was often due to rebuffing of the Soviets from these states that allowed relations with China to flourish, usually taking form through infrastructure deals, and supplying of arms and token military aid. 

 

And so began a timeline of Chinese economic intervention in Africa. Where it began as a way to counter Soviet expansion into the continent during the Cold war, it has now turned into a way of China expanding its portfolio of nations who seemingly ‘owe’ Beijing a debt of gratitude for bringing stability and allowing economies to flourish. This has been further cemented with FOCAC – the Forum on China-African Cooperation. FOCAC has been China’s way of setting the agenda on the continent through infrastructure development plans. For example, the headquarters building for the African Union was built by Chinese organizations, namely China State Construction Engineering and China Architecture and Research Group. They were even accused of planting listening devices in the walls of the building during construction. Such accusations of espionage may indicate there is an ulterior motive to the economic help that China is giving these nations. 

 

The best way to understand the relationship that China has with a number of these states is to actually look at the relationship between the US and Israel, as it is almost exactly the opposite.

 

Israel received $3.8bn in military aid and $8bn in loan guarantees from the US in 2019.  The Israelis are able to have a powerful negotiation base because of a number of reasons. Firstly, Israeli delegates speak English. Secondly, Israel has a stable government in place. This gives them more negotiation power as it can prove that any aid will be used for what it has been allocated and in theory reduces the chance of corruption affecting any funding given. These two factors place both sides on the same page and allow comprehensive talks to take place. 

 

This is exactly the opposite of what is happening in Africa. Many nations lack the stability of a strong government, and very few African delegates speak Mandarin. Furthermore, different African nations want different things from China. This has historically led to African negotiators not being on the same page, and negotiations becoming very one-sided with China coming out on top. Because of the poor negotiating stance, such states have at FOCAC, they have no desire to confront China directly or consider pulling out of any of the agreements in place.

 

What does the US think of all this? 

 

US-African relations haven’t been undermined by Chinese involvement in the region. However, this is due to Africa not being at the top of the list of important foreign policy matters in Washington. There is a reason both sides are doing what they are doing. On the US side, the majority of energy that the US uses comes from domestic sources, such as the oil refineries in Texas, rather than big oil refineries in and off the coast of the continent. With domestic supply, it is cheaper for the US to use that than ship oil and gas from Africa. 

On the Chinese side, the aim at the start was to subvert the expansion of the Soviets during the Cold war, and now they are continuing their efforts to subvert US expansionism with an eye on the future. Furthermore, China is aiming to unilaterally limit the capability for the US to intervene, not just in Africa, but also around the world. By placing Chinese citizens in these states, it is limiting the capacity for the US to ‘intervene’ in foreign issues. This comes as no surprise then that the Chinese have placed their only military installation in Africa in Djibouti, just 12km from the largest overseas US military base in the world, Camp Lemonnier. Not only does this put overt pressure on the Americans, making them feel like they are be being watched, but the base is right next to Doraleh Container Terminal, one of the most strategically important ports in a crucial chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb.

 

 

How does this all end? 

 

There is a slim chance that it will end the way people think it will end. The immortal words of Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, “TIA, this is Africa”, sums up the way post-colonial African politics occur. As long as the Chinese model of Socialist development continues to boost African economies, then the Chinese will stay and continue to push their method of growth in the region. This means states in the region will continue to reject democracy, as the Chinese system is working. However, as soon as it shows signs of failing, states will look for another system.