[DeadPresidents]

Do you think China is the new Europe in Africa?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... e14269323/

A major stake in a South African newspaper group might seem an unusual acquisition for Chinese state television, but it was no mystery to anyone who has watched the rapid expansion of China’s media empire across Africa.

Other CCTV Africa journalists say they were told to provide positive news on China, to omit negative words such as “regime,” and to ignore countries such as Swaziland that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese demand for ivory could not be mentioned in stories about Africa’s poaching crisis, one journalist said. Another recalled how human-rights questions had to be avoided in an interview with an authoritarian African leader. “I knew it would be cut out of my story, so I self-censored,” he said.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130516000187

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China passed France last year to become the third-largest global arms supplier, behind only the USA and Russia. As for sub-Saharan Africa, where Chinese imperialism is arguably most active, the SIPRI arms transfer database reveals that China went from fourth place, supplying just 6 percent of sub-Saharan major conventional arms between 1996 and 2000, to becoming the top supplier during the period between 2006 and 2010, with a 25 percent market share ― knocking former top supplier Russia down from 31 percent to just 11 percent. This doesn’t even take into consideration the illicit arms trade that fuels civil insurgency in places such as Sudan, where China dominates the oil market.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/pers ... frica.html

Thanks to Beijing's interest in Sudan's oil, President Omar al-Bashir's regime in Khartoum has received a windfall. Ten years ago, Sudan's oil revenues were negligible; last year, Chinese investment ensured that they totalled at least £3 billion.
Without this ready cash, Mr Bashir could never have sustained the war in Darfur, where four years of fighting have claimed about 300,000 lives, either from violence, starvation or disease. The military machine that has laid waste to vast tracts of land, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, was, in effect, bankrolled by Beijing. Moreover, China has sold weapons directly to Sudan, notably Fantan ground attack aircraft.
Elsewhere, China provides a convenient alternative for African leaders spurned by the West for their human rights abuses. Devoid of aid and foreign investment, President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe would be entirely isolated but for China's backing. Beijing has given Mugabe civilian and military aircraft, and its experts helped design a new mansion for the old dictator, in the style of a Chinese pagoda

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/world ... .html?_r=0

China wants Africa’s oil as much as ever. But instead of accepting the old terms, which many African officials call unconditional surrender, some cash-starved African states are pushing back, showing an assertiveness unthinkable until recently and suggesting that the days of unbridled influence by the African continent’s mega-investor may be waning.

For years, China has found eager partners across the continent, where governments of every ilk have welcomed the nation’s deep pockets and hands-off approach to local politics as an alternative to the West.

Now China’s major state oil companies are being challenged by African governments that have learned decades of hard lessons about heedless resource-grabs by outsiders and are looking anew at the deals they or their predecessors have signed. Where the Chinese companies are seen as gouging, polluting or hogging valuable tracts, African officials have started resisting, often at the risk of angering one of their most important trading partners.

http://www.voanews.com/content/analysts ... 79560.html

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Ghana has arrested more than 100 Chinese nationals accused of illegally mining gold in that country. Zambia seized a Chinese coal mine in February over safety concerns. And Gabon is planning to take back assets from three foreign oil companies - including one from China. These moves and others have some analysts pointing to a backlash against Chinese investment on the continent. While experts say the China-Africa honeymoon may be over, divorce is not likely.

China became Africa's top trade partner in 2009. Bilateral trade hit nearly $200 billion in 2012. Some Africans believe they are getting the short end of the stick, however, as they export valuable natural resources to China without receiving much in return by way of jobs or revenue.

[Rei Murasame]

China is in Africa for the specific purpose of extracting resources and forming a 'united front' with western imperialist powers to lay down the infrastructure to do so. If that means cutting countries in half, supporting attacks against socialist groups, covertly supporting Islamists, whatever it is, they'll do it because they don't care. They never cared.

I would advise African people, if you have to deal with China, do not be fooled by their words, what they call 'Thirdworldism' is a misnomer, it is absolutely not interested in structural change in the developing world at all.

[DeadPresidents]

That's for the information Rei.

I believe the same thing, some of us more international politically interested African Americans are seeing what's going on and feel very bad about it.

We want to help but Africans don't seem to reach out to us on a more official and welcoming tip.

[benpenguin]

http://africansuntimes.com/2013/04/is-c ... rialistic/

I think this is a fair article. In a nutshell:
1. China is as imperialistic / resource hungry as the West, though in a different form.
2. It is providing "no-strings-attached" deals to African leaders - but there is no such thing as a free lunch - the cost comes in a different manner. Now we control their media and their production, and thus, the power to dominate the hearts and minds, and their economic future!
3. We invest a lot in infrastructure, something that is desperately need and cannot be taken away if Africans wake up one day and decide to kick us out. Something that western imperialists never bothered to do.
4. Much welcomed competition against the old colonial masters - Africans can now choose to play the two against each other - when they are literate enough in international affairs.
5. So far, no bloodbath!

So, is it imperialistic and greedy? Absolutely. But to Africans, despite the potential costs, China is still a godsend. Here is what I predict will happen (No brainer really):
1. Rich / poor gap widen, a lot Africans getting lifted from poor to mega rich, but many will suffer economic slavery.
2. Prominent Chinese families will dominate all major industries, in coperation with local corrupt governments, and continue to pump resources back to China.
3. Occasional unrest will happen, but will be effectly put down by Chinese weapons.
4. Relative stability.

By now, the west will be eager to return and gain a piece of the action. Next thing we see, plenty of proxy wars spearheaded from Libya and ME. For freedom and democracy and rainbow unicorns. By that time it will be the real test to Chinese power.

[benpenguin]

What if it is Western governments in our place? Look to the Middle East. There will be wars for Freedom and Democracy against governments they don't like, death squads and extermist religious ideology will run rampant. Proxy and direct wars all day long and puppet leaders gets propped one after another with heavily rigged elections. The rest will be more or less the same.

If it is up to (Imperialist) Japanese, they will slaughter their way through their continent, install Japanese governors who slaughter more, while telling Africans that we are doing you good, we are lifting your sorry ass out of this backward shithole, co-prosperity and all that. When the Africans decide to kick them out they will complain of being backstabbed, then slaughter their way out. On the plus side though, infrastructre will be awesome.

Before you say you want to "help" Africans, what kind of help do you think they need?

[Political Interest]

It is hard to tell if Chinese influence is yet imperialism. There is a possibility that it could develop into this. The Chinese presence in African countries may not be a positive development. One wonders if like America, they will eventually use military and political means to defend their economic interests in the region.

[Beren]

It is hard to tell if Chinese influence is yet imperialism.

It might be premature, it might be yellow, but sure it is.

[Kilwa]

That's for the information Rei.

I believe the same thing, some of us more international politically interested African Americans are seeing what's going on and feel very bad about it.

We want to help but Africans don't seem to reach out to us on a more official and welcoming tip.

You are a delusional """Black""" American. Then, you should know Africans don't call themself Black. In East Africa we are Brown, south sudanese are Black and the (not so) dear mzungu is red. Red as the blood, the aggressiveness, the war and the mass slaughter (it's because there isn't a word for pink). But we don't classify people by their colors, everyone has his nationality etc. and all the westerners are simply mzungu (something like the japanes gaijin). But not all the westerners, Indians and Arabs have their names, but at the end of the day they're still mzungu (wazungu in plural, it's a word common in all East Africa).

I saw many scared posters in this thread, scared from this new alliance.

Thanks to the dealing with Asia now all my relatives are on Facebook (south east asian cheap smartphones), government is no more USA backed (USA stopped to give "aid") and roads are being built all over the country, with 100% black labourers. In my specific country the Chinese are not present, they simply helped to build (not labourers, simply engineers) geothermal plants. The government is calling all immigrants in Europe and asking them to come back in Africa.

this video explains everything (about green energy plants in East Africa).

I always hated how western governments behave and now I know that in 25-30 years, at least in my country, we'll become middle-income. Asia rising is a blessing to the world, since Africa is rising too and we are are their allies.