By Li Xinfeng
China’s sustained and fast economic development in the past decades has made great contributions to the progress and prosperity of the global economy, particularly to the stabilization and development of Africa’s economy. China became Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009 and Africa is an emerging investment destination for Chinese enterprises. By the end of 2014, China’s direct investment stock in Africa had reached $32.4 billion, growing over 30 percent annually in the previous 15 years. China’s direct investment in Africa in the first half of 2015 reached $1.19 billion.
Martyn Davies, a South African specialist in ChinaAfrica studies, noted that Chinese economic growth has stimulated Africa’s development. The continent’s pattern of growth was basically consistent with China’s economic growth curve.
Yet, Western media and academia have turned a blind eye to China’s contribution to Africa’s achievements. They hype up the “China threat theory,” “China’s neo-colonialism,” and the “exploitation of resources theory.” In the past, China was criticized for “plundering Africa’s resources;” now some are claiming that China’s economic slowdown has affected the development of Africa.
These allegations prove, from the reverse side, that they recognize China’s contribution to Africa’s development. It is not the first time that some Western countries have opted to wear blinkers when observing China. It shows they are ignorant of Africa’s economic situation.
The current slowdown in the African economy is attributed to many factors. There are some internal ones, such as basing the economy on a single product, which is stymying the growth of many African countries. Also, their demographic dividends haven’t been fully realized yet.
Take South Africa, for example. The country’s economic activity remains weak. Bulk commodity prices continue to decline while it relies more on mineral exports. There are growing concerns about capital outflows, rising employment costs, inflation, and the devaluation of South Africa’s currency, all of which may hurt investors’ confidence.
The slowdown of the African economy has been aggravated by worsening external factors. In the aftermath of the international financial crisis, primary commodity prices declined, afflicting Africa.
In other words, the impact of the Chinese economy’s slowdown on Africa would be limited. It is true that the 6.9-percent growth in 2015 was the lowest for China in 25 years. But this was achieved by an economy $10 trillion in size.
China has been a strong supporter of African development, a sincere collaborator and an active participant in it. At the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China would assist in 10 cooperation plans to accelerate Africa’s industrialization, boost infrastructure construction and enhance African countries’ self-development capacity.
The cooperation projects would be in industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare. Public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security would also come under the ambit. In this way, African economies can be secure from external interference and overcome the economic vulnerability caused by a single-product focus, so as to realize stable development in the long run.
China-Africa cooperation is always mutually beneficial and win-win, boosting the common development of both sides. Africa’s development will ultimately benefit the people of Africa.
(The author is associate editor in chief at Social Sciences in China Press and an African studies expert)