Opinion: A critical review of Chinese investment in Africa from Diaspora

May 7, 2020 Opinions

By Emmanuel Migi

Photo: South African, Ghanaian and Chinese presidents at the African-Chinese summit in 2018 (Credit unknown)

May 7, 2020 (SSNN) — With all predictions, indeed 21st century has been dominated by fear and uncertainty about population growth in the World particularly in the developing countries; citing Africa’s continent to witness a surge of the World Population Growth by 26% or 2.5 billion by 2050 and by 39% or 4.5 billion by 2100.

These predictions are seen to coincide with the Chinese influence and economic model taking over-investment in energy, metal, infrastructure, construction and large scale land investment on Africa’s continent. In this article I want to explore Chinese economic investment model and what it means for Africa, putting forward the question, can Chinese model be a transformative model for African economic revolution for socioeconomic success and development for African’s countries.

What could the Chinese bring differently from European colonials in Africa, and what is the name for the new China takeover of Africa? Furthermore, I will examine the behaviours of Chinese in Africa and bring in the current COVID 19 pandemic Chinese – African social relationships compare to economic relationships, what these two levels of relationships mean to Africa and her people and what African leaders need to know about China and the way forward for Africa in the long-existing world order.

The prediction of the growing populations and urban migration in Africa is undoubting, and these trends are likely to exacerbate poverty and the existing gap between the elite of the Africa continent and the poor.

It inconceivable, that African population growth, urbanization and poverty can be salvaged by Chinese investment model, a country (China) on its own country’s yard struggling with unprecedented population growth, urbanization and land shortage and infertility. In 2019 the population of China was 1.40004 billion with an expected increase of 0.00584 billion each year as per aggregate, putting enormous pressure on China seeking alternative reservoir for her population, and Africa seems to be the best on the list. The Chinese investment model in Africa is nothing different from International Aid characterized in Dambisa Moyo’s book “Died Aid”.

Chinese influence and investment types and models need a close analysis for the visible practical benefits and the invisible disadvantage, Any investment in Africa should be tailored to elevate African economy and poverty elimination, lifting the poor to live above the poverty line of a dollar a day. There are many theories to explain China unstoppable investment in Africa, particularly in large scale land investments, China claims that its interest in Africa is to develop infrastructure, improve agriculture and reduce poverty on the continent is unrealistic.

The interest of China in Agriculture is to use Africa virgin fertile lands to produce organic foods for their people, and make the soil barren while in return shipping unauthentic foods (Plastic foods) to Africa, such as rice, corn flours.
Under the rise of World growing population, Africa is facing real unimaginable external threats to its environmental sustainability which is the current and future backbone of Africa’s economy, particularly from China. Investment in large scale land investment and mechanized agriculture could leave fertile African land barren forever, and that could mark the beginning and the end of the people of that continent, the sparse population of Africa that depends on their livelihood on land and subsistence agriculture. In the absence of fertile land could mean not only living under the deeper poverty line, instead of leaving them with no fertile land for subsistence farming for survival.

Chinese investment is what I term the “Perishable investment, or a non substantiate investment” an investment that finishes within itself without trickling down to the African poor and disadvantage groups and lifting them out of poverty; instead, send people deep and more profound under the poverty line of under a dollar a day. The model of investment is designed to benefit Chinese economic development and lifting Chinese people from poverty while impoverishing Africans.

On contrary China and Africa investment, the record indicates that in 2019 China lifted 82.39 million rural poor out of poverty and the proportion living under poverty line dropped from 10.2 to 1.7 percent since 2013 (six years) with $1541.63 34 percent GDP per-capita an increased growth of 8.3 percent, while the countries it has invested in the last two decades continue to face economic hardships and impoverishment. For example, Nigerian, About half Nigeria’s population live in extreme poverty according to estimates from the World Data Lab’s Poverty Clock, since 2015 economic growth remains muted, with growth averaged 1.9% in 2018 and remained stable at 2% in 2019 (World Bank) despite Chinese investment in Nigeria. These indicators are clear examples that, china foreign investment in Africa is not to lift that continent out of poverty, but rather to impoverish Africa for its economy and poverty elimination in China.

African leaders need to look at the Chinese model of domestic investments that have sparked social and economic development in China and compare to the model of investment that China has embarked on in Africa for the last two decades, whether it can bring social and economic development in Africa. Africans needs to note down that, since 1900 China has heavily invested in manufacturing and factory industries, and the major industries include mining and ore processing plants, iron and steel, uranium coal, machinery, ornaments, textiles and apparels, petroleum, cement, chemical, fertilizers, food processing, automobiles and other transportation equipment including rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft.

Surprisingly, China is not even an industrialized country, China’s key industries are not near the level of advanced industrial countries, but the largest manufacturer in the World which has led to a thriving emerging economy. China’s economic power is the result of investment in manufacturing plants, and the same investment should Africa needs to pull out from a developing continent to an emerging economy.

China exploitation of world order and trade liberation system established after WWII has credited China to emerge as the World second economy after the United States of America. Through global trade system, China is using its emerging economic power through the world order platform to manipulatively influence African Leaders to invest in Africa at the rate that could eventually amount to the price of buying and take over the continent of Africa. For example, the government of Kenya may lose Port of Mombasa as Kenya debt to china hits Sh650 billion.

According to China investment Global Tracker 2005, from 2005 – 2018 China invested $299 billion in contracts in Sub-Saharan Africa, one-quarter of all Chinese investment concentrated in Nigeria and Angola and Nigeria is one of China’s most significant investment in Africa, with five of the $60 billion pledged during 2015 FOCAC summit dedicated to Nigeria. China wants everything from Africa, its strategic location (ex-ports), its oil, its rare earth metals, lands, and fish. China wants to strip African continent from its underground natural resources, Arable lands and agricultural sustainability for its benefit, leaving African nations indebted to China and the already impoverished people of Africa to “poverty of no recovery”.

I wonder if Africans ask questions about the Chinese investment, whether it is likely to bring similar social and economic development that China has achieved and enjoyed over the last two decades or so—lifting her people from extreme poverty to the middle class? I guess it is worth looking at the China development matrix and compare to its investment in Africa. China investment in Africa is entirely the opposite from what China did to emerge as the strong economy (manufacturing plants), which I guess African leaders should ask China to use the same investment method (manufacturing industries) for Africa if China or UK and France real means transforming the socioeconomic of the people in Africa and bringing development to the continent of Africa.

China Africa investments and loans to Africa cannot lift people from poverty; China’s interest in Africa is not for the development of African. Instead, China is looking for a market in Africa, exploiting African economic resources as it has continued to exploit the world economic system for the benefit of its people.

The intention of China for Africa is nothing more than what China has been good at “exploitation” for centuries. Chinese increasing influence in African is slowly becoming Chinese owned, as China continues to bring man’s power from China to Africa without considerations for employment for the local African populations.

Africa is also witnessing China deploying Chinese Law enforcements agency (Police) in countries such as South Africa and Zambia, where china has opened the Chinese Community and Police Co-operation Centre. What those countries do not know is those policemen are not just policemen as per se, they are specialists in different areas such as geology and capable of performing other duties without the host government knowing. Africa, as a continent, needs to pull up its shocks.

It is an illusion to think that, for China to bring the human workforce from China would lift people out of poverty in Africa, how could a Chinese men’s work miraculously eliminate poverty among Africans. China uses Africa to benefit from its types of machinery and factories products such as the infrastructure and road constructions materials, and that is why China is finding Africa as the only market, and I would argue if someone argues that China-Africa investment is for the common good of Africans.

The prediction of population growth in Africa is an opportunity for Africa, and what African leaders need to do is to change the current method and types of investments such as that of China as referred to hereabove.

Africa needs to invest in industrialization, factorization and manufacturing plants of the Africa continent to create employment for the African growing young population. For Africa to invest in industries and factories would mean employment, high productivities and high export for the African Continent and eventually poverty reduction. Africa needs to invest in the industrial revolution, as a continent with the fastest growth of the young population and African productivities could triple those of the developed countries. The GDP per capita will increase by 15 percent over 5 years, and boost the economies and position most African countries in the middle class like average developed countries. It is possible if Africa sees the 2020 – 2050 population growth prediction phenomena as an opportunity for common African purpose for the common good of the masses of African to stage economic revolutions and to accept investment that is for the social and economic development of all Africans.

Way forward.

For Africa to realize the dream of the industrial revolution, economic growth and poverty reduction, African regional blocks such as the SADEC, ECOWA and IGAD need to reinvent its structures and merge as what I visualize as a formidable “Africa’s Continental Global Order” (ACGO) to redesign African Industrial Revolution Order (AIRO) for the development of the people and the continent of Africa.

Africa can only develop if it becomes industrial and export-based countries. Africa needs to change the position of import and consumption to production and export, which means Africa needs to invest 75% in building industries and factories for processing raw materials and create employment, factories will produce locally all the materials needed for infrastructure and road constructions, this will keep African economy grow faster and reliable and lift people out of poverty. After more than fifty years of Independence, Africa cannot continue to depend on cash crops for export, such as Cacaos, Coffee, Cotton, Palm oil extra, these crops were introduced during colonial and today has little value as compare to industrial materials. Africa is in more than fifty years of independence and must have learnt to adopt a new system and type of investments for Africa for development.

There is no doubt that over the last five decades of independence, Africa has produced a hundred of thousands or even millions of intellectuals from different disciplines with skills and knowledge about how the global liberal trade order works, the values of the underground resources and how to build Africa as a strong economy and subsequently into a developed continent.

The intellectuals have the ability and skills to effect changes to how Africa is missing in development. Furthermore, Africa has all the resources that have to continue to develop countries outside Africa, such as France, this happened during colonial rule and continue to happen in the current global order. Today in the Francophone African’s Countries such as Cameroon continue to pay colonial taxes to its former colonial France and keep Cameroon’s Reserve Bank in France.

No denial of the colonial injustice committed and grave human rights violations against African, for example, King Leopold II of Belgium ruled Congo and extracted minerals by subjecting the Congolese people to inhumane hard labour and punishment that left millions of Congolese die, an act of total economic genocidal exploitation.

After 50 years of independence Africa has not benefited from both its human and natural economic resources, Africa can befit if Africa puts industrial revolution as a priority and it is the right time now with the growing population. The current Chinese investment in infrastructure and construction of roads is not a priority for Africa, it is an unsustainable model of investment and development, and it has no socioeconomic impact in the lives and livelihood of African. Africa needs different investment, a sustainable long term investment that role out to job creation and sustainable employment for the predicted growing demographics of the young African populations. Africa needs investment in the industrial revolutions similar to the history of the industrial revolution in Europe that has made Europe what it is today. What Africa is receiving from China is the opposite; if Africa is to develop, it needs to invest in the industrialization of Africa, establishing factories. These refineries establish a strong base for the economy and educate Africans on the applications and management of such investments. Such sustainable investments model creates ongoing employment for the people of Africa, export and a stable economy.

China investment in Africa is not suitable for Africa, and it controls the investment by bringing it labour forces from China to work in Africa, which means, no trickling down to the local population instead tricking back to the Chinese population, lifting their people out of poverty at the expense of African jobs. Africa needs to assess the benefits of Chinese investment in Africa. Most of the Chinese investment is Perishable Investment, an investment that ends within itself and investors.

In the recent COVID 19 pandemic, the Chinese rhetoric of great respect for Africa was put in a test. Where African were unlawfully evicted from and thrown out to the streets. Chinese behaviours towards African brings in the question of trust, is china, indeed a trusted partner for investment in Africa? I think it is worth knowing and understanding about China. First, China is a communist country, known for its bad record on Human Rights, Religious intolerance and crackdown on Human rights activist. China considers no respect for human dignity as the World has witnessed during the current COVID 19 pandemic, where African were racially targeted and illegally evicted from their rented apartments and thrown on to the streets. It is time for African and their leaders to revisit their relationships with China and the Chinese people.

The products china brings to Africa for infrastructure and construction of roads are products of the result of industries and factories, for a country to develop, investing in industrialization and factories are the primary economic generating factors. Africa needs to understand that China is a world production centre today as the result of investing in more factories and from their factories to build their infrastructure and that has resulted in China becoming second-most robust economy in the World. Africa leaders do not need to think about how to bring social and economic developments to Africa. It is about studying how those developed Countries started, and then copy and paste.

Africa does not need loans in the form of cash, Africa has original natural money (gold, diamond, Copper, uranium extra), Africa does not need printed paper for economic and social development and to lift her people out of poverty. African need to urgently drop the Chinese investment terms and replace it with African investment terms, to build industries, factories and manufacturing plants in exchange fair prices from African minerals.

The author is a South Sudanese Diaspora based in Perth, Western Australia with specialized professions in Community Development and International Aid and Development (CDIAD) and Human Rights Law (HRL). He can be reached through email: emmanuelmigi@yahoo.com.au

The opinions and press releases expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors, any veracity lies solely on the authors or the institutions represented by the authors. View more opinion articles and press releases on SSNN. To get your article published, visit our contact page here or send your email to info.ssnewsnow@gmail.com