There are many reasons for Chinese success in Africa. But democracy could still be a trump card for rival India.
From the southern tip of their own continent and across to Latin America, Asia’s two rising and aspiring powers are set to compete for supremacy and the mantle of superpower status. But it’s in between these two points that the biggest competition between China and India is set to unfold. Forget Central Asia—Africa is the scene of the next ‘great game.’
The reason why the two will zero in on Africa is simple—both have burgeoning, resource hungry populations and rapidly growing economies. If they are to have any chance of sustained competition with developed Western economies, they will need access to the rich natural resources that Africa can provide.
China already looks to have a significant edge on its rival, with two-way trade with Africa set to top $100 billion this year, compared to about a third of that between India and Africa last year.
Beijing has, after all, been actively courting allies through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which since October 2000 has had regular summits attended by the Chinese premier and dozens of African heads of state.
And India’s response was a relative flop. It tried to follow in China’s footsteps by launching the India–Africa Forum Summit. However, at its first and only summit so far, in April 2008, only 14 African countries were represented out of a possible 53.
Part of the problem is that India’s External Affairs Ministry is still infused with what’s known in diplomatic circles as ‘Pakistani Syndrome’—an unhealthy focus among Indian diplomats at the highest echelons of government, including the national security advisor, on India’s western neighbour.
China’s African ambitions, in contrast, are not hamstrung by such regional concerns. Although the Chinese dragon is surrounded by what it sees as a sea of sharks wanting to curtail its influence in East Asia and the Pacific—namely India, Japan, Russia, the United States and Russia—it has a broad enough worldview and understanding of international relations to continue to focus on the valuable development of Africa.
Another Chinese advantage has been that many countries in Africa, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia and Sudan, feel a sense of obligation toward China after it helped them when they were confronted with the spectre of civil war following the demise of the Soviet Union.
After a surge of attention on the continent during the Cold War, the US and Russia lost interest in spending money in Africa, leaving instability—and space for China to step in. The gaps the two big powers left that China has sought to fill were big ones, with many African nations having depended heavily on their Cold War sponsors in the 1960s and 1970s for state-building assistance after securing independence from their colonial masters. Withdrawal pulled the rug from under any prospects for stability.
Photo Credit: Uniphoto Press
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svetlana harris
China dispatches its secret weapon to Latin America
On the 31st of March, a little reported meeting took place in Bogota Colombia, between The President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and a Maltese businessman Shiv Shankaran Nair, President of British Borneo Holdings Ltd.
Mr. Nair , who reportedly spent almost two hours with the President and his team, was accompanied by his close friend and partner from Spain, Pedro Gomez de la serna Villacieros, a former Director in the Ministry of interior of Spain, under the People’s Party.
However our sources indicate that the reason for this hurriedly convened meeting was two letters carried by .Mr.Nair. Addressed to the President of Colombia from the Presidents of two of China’s largest companies, China Railways and China Harbour.
In the letters, Nair, was mandated to discuss with the Colombian President, the Mega Project to connect the Atlantic Coast of Colombia with the Pacific coast.
This project has been under discussion between the Governments of China and Colombia for some time, but without much progress, and it is interesting that the Chinese dispatched Mr.Nair to Colombia. Dubbed by the Diplomat magazine as “China’s secret weapon in Africa”, Mr.Nair has an impressive track record in closing Chinese financed projects in Africa. It will remain to be seen whether he can replicate this in South America. However, it can atleast be said that he has had a good start
Sanket
China definitely has more influence than India in Africa. But one must understand that Chinese investments have often generated a sense of resentment among the local population in the host country. This is because China uses its own labour for infrastructure projects in other countries.This deprives the local people of jobs and livelihood thus rendering the Chinese investments useless for the benefit of local people.There are also reports that Chinese prison labour is used.Since many African countries are authotaranian,they are able to ride roughshod over their peoples interests.But they cannot do so indefinitely.This is where India has an advantage. Its investments in social sectors plus the peacekeeping assistance has built a lot of goodwill among the local polulations in Africa and other countries. The most noted example is Afghanistan where India is the most loved country owing to its efforts in rebuilding the nation. Africa also needs rebuilding after years of colonial exploitation and cold war rivalries.The rebuilding must be economic,social as well as institutional. This is where Indian democracy and social developmental model can succeed over Chinese labour capitalism.But for that India needs to havea well defined “Focus Africa Policy”. Our prime-ministers and foreign ministers must match the Chinese in high level diplomacy by making regular visits to Africa.
zang wenbo
China’s secret weapon in Africa
CCEC signs 500 million $ railway line in Ghana, TCC signs 1 billion contract for upgrading Tema refinery, China Railways signs contract to upgrade Armenian railways, CSOC signs contract to upgrade naval flotilla of Ecuador….and so it goes, the relentless march of Chinese contractors, fuelled by cheap finance.
What these headlines hide is an astonishing fact, that China’s secret weapon in many parts of Africa, Latin America and NIS, is in fact a reclusive Maltese Indian millionaire.
Our investigative reporters have put together a picture of a man who flits across continents, whispering quietly in the ears of decision makers, selling them billion dollar dams, power stations and railway lines
From Nigeria to Senegal, and Ecuador to Chile, one single man has helped Chinese contractors win contracts totalling almost fifteen billion US$. What is ironical is that in the battlefield between Indian and Chinese interests, the Chinese’s’ most effective weapon is an Indian businessman based in Malta.
The Maltese businessman, Shiv Shankaran Nair, is the Chairman of British Borneo Holdings Ltd, a Maltese mini conglomerate with interests in oil and gas, security, public procurement and public advocacy. From his lair in the ancient fortress city of Valetta, built by the famous Crusader knights, Mr.Nair sallies forth on behalf of his Chinese paymasters, to sell developing countries, the modern tools of development. If it is a dam, in the middle of the Congo, or a power station in the Amazon or a railway line in the Karakum desert, Mr.Nair is the man you want, and of course if your country has some oil or iron ore or any other mineral, Mr.Nair has Chinese friends who will be more than happy to dig it up and cart it away to China
Nair’s company British Borneo Oil and Gas, has cooperation agreements with CNOOC , one the major Chinese oil companies (oil Intelligence July issue) as well as with Sinopec. Nair is also a special advisor to the President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Illyumzhinov, who is very well connected to the kleptocratic leaders of the Central Asian Republics. Nair and Illyumzhinov are reputed to work closely in the region.
Mr.Nair is a good example of how modern International trade and public advocacy have blurred the distinction between nationality and political relations
Ekuson Debango
Look here everybody. China is it. Everyone is trying very hard to outdo the master itself and everybody is doing a darn bad job of it-whether it is late-comer India, or America’s africom boondoggle or Europe’s “Africa is our backyard’ policy. Everyone needs to take the back seat and learn from the master tactician-China.