- China Africa relations, known as Sino-African relations, refers to the historical, political, economic, military, social, and cultural connections between China and Africa.
Somehow Globalization managed to skip Africa for a long time. Some would say it was a result of the political instabilities, low income, and poor infrastructure.
However, things took a different turn when the Chinese came into the picture.
China needs a lot of raw materials to power its growing manufacturing capacity. Therefore, the Chinese invested in Africa’s growth. In return, they got the needed resources for their growing country.
Mining investments count for over one-third of China’s foreign direct investment in Africa, which are abundant resource centers.
This means that China uses a higher percentage if it’s foreign investment to gather resources in Africa.
China would have a secure base for resources used for restructuring and development for generations to come.
There’s little knowledge of China-Africa past relations. However, we can trace the modern relationship between China and Africa to the political and economic ties in the Mao Zedong era.
Following the victory of the Chinese Civil war, the ties of both continents strengthened massively.
Moreover, over 1 million Chinese were residing in Africa at that time.
Trade between China and Africa increase at 700% in the 1990s, and currently, China is Africa’s best trading partner.
Furthermore, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized China’s involvement to actualize a fair, political, and economic order In the world.
In the year 2020, the international trends to watch out for between the two continents are;
- Twitter Diplomacy
Debt
Sustainable Energy
This involvement will strengthen the ties of China-Africa in the year to come.
Twitter Diplomacy
One of the factors observed to strengthen the China-Africa tie is Twitter Diplomacy. In the past, Chinese diplomats in Africa had to use CCTV for all their interviews, but now, each Chinese diplomat has their own Twitter account.
In addition, the effectiveness of this is obvious. Chinese Ambassadors are now having arguments with African ministers on social media. Besides, social media is one of the public diplomacy approaches being road-tested in Africa.
Debt
Debt has also been an issue that has lasted for decades in China-Africa. Recently West African countries became more conscious of the impact of Chinese lending.
More so , over the years, Africa’s debt has increased massively, ensnaring poor African countries and creating leverages for China in these countries.
Currently, the deadline for the payment of the $3.6 billion debt issued to Kenya by China ended with the close of the year 2019, ending on the 31st of December.
The Kenyan Treasury will immediately commence payment of their debt as 2020 unfolds.
Sustainable Energy
Africa is so desperate for electricity, and according to research, over 43% of Africa’s investment goes to electricity. Some state-owned co-operation have been able to master the act of developing coal-fuelled electricity plants.
However, the use of coal-powered plants has been barred in those states. The only implication of this is that China would be the supplier for electricity demanding countries in Africa.
Although some fear that Africa could get colonized due to their comprising ties with China, countries like Pakistan and Sri Lankan are more indebted to China and have greater fears of being colonized or ensnared.
China is investing enormous resources in the development of the next generation. As one of the World’s Power, China has chosen to be one of the largest spenders on research and development.
This research is believed to revitalize and shape the economy for future generations.
Asia has become the engine of the global economy. The implication of this is that in the region’s largest economies –South Korea, China, and Japan– the caregiving burden will increasingly fall on the state, reshaping the region’s geopolitics.
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