China in Africa

China is the world’s oldest civilization with its written language being the oldest in the world. Chinese have contributed some of the major inventions to the world, some of them being the paper, compass, gunpowder and printing.
China is world’s fourth biggest country in terms of area and the most populated nation on earth.

Population has led China to scout for resources to keep the nation going. It has found some relief through the African continent. In almost every corner of Africa there is something that interests China. Africa is rich in natural resources that promise to keep China's booming, fuel-hungry economy on the road.

China is now Africa’s second largest trading partner. This has benefited both Africa and China. Africa’s recent growth has been driven by China, and China’s desire for natural resources is met by Africa.
Anybody who has visited one of the African countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Kenya or Tanzania can see Chinese in abundance.
The understanding between China and Africa has been quite cordial as both do not have any colonial history.

China’s main interest is in the oil that some of the African nations have in plenty. China has been investing heavily to develop oil, gas, mineral and other natural resource in many countries in the continent. All this is done to fuel its booming economy.

One interesting fact to note is China is leasing vast agricultural lands in Africa to grow food for its nation.

It is not easy to do business in Africa for a country with cultural difference. African societies also have relatively low understanding of the Chinese.

Many Chinese firms employ large numbers of local workers but wages remain low. However, there is evidence that workers are learning new skills because of the availability of Chinese-funded work. Taking advantage of low labor costs, the Chinese are also building factories across Africa. There are lots of rails and road building projects undertaken by many Chinese firms which are helping build the economy of African nations.

China is helping African nations with medical care primarily to treat malaria and HIV/AIDS. It regularly sends its medical teams to different African nations helping numerous patients.

There is also a dark side of the relationship. China supplies weapons and military equipments to African dictators on a regular basis. It is used to oppress the minority population, overturn the political opposition and harass neighboring countries.

There is a concern in the west over the influence of China on Africa. The United States is demonstrating commitment to promoting economic growth and development in Africa through its representatives in Africa who work on health and human rights programmes.

To conclude, China is actively expanding its influence in Africa to secure supplies of natural resources and counter its domestic problems which might arise in future due to internal resource crunch. There is some give and take happening which is handled quite intelligently by China.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/