subject: The Screwy Relationship Between China and Africa [print this page] The Screwy Relationship Between China and Africa
"[T]he wise general will concentrate on securing provisions from the enemy," Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
The Chinese are big time on the African continent. The extraction of natural resources in exchange for infrastructural development purports a symbiotic relationship that, in this author's estimation, can only lead to a disastrous conclusion for Africa--particularly, when it is clear that the Chinese hate Black people.
As far back as 1279 AD, under the rule of Khubila Khan, the Chinese have been conquered and ruled by foreign powers. China's early experience with foreign governments left a bad taste of economic colonialism in its mouth. Autonomous regions and concessions, which carved up China's sovereignty, led to forced trade and an opium war. Territory was lost and the national treasury depleted to indemnify the victors for war reparations. China, historically, has been harried by foreign powersexposing its industrial weakness and national vulnerability. Where self-importance once reigned, doubt and a national-inferiority complex permeate the Chinese consciousness.
Today, while maintaining the largest standing army of approximately three million soldiers and a comparatively credible nuclear arsenal, China has taken another "Great Leap Forward" in the continued modernization of its security forces to counteract this national psychosis.
There are two schools of thought as it concerns China's regional and global intentions. The first suggests that China has no hegemonic interestthat she has never ventured, for conquest, outside her borders and any interest she might communicate in this arena are for regional stability and noninterference. The second suggests that China has always had revenge in mind for historic indignities and a resolve to eventually dominate the world. Every shift she makes in policy, strategic or economic, must be viewed with this intent in mind.
To further this objective, China has made every attempt to acquire technological advantages the United States might offer into its military portfolio. To this aim, accusations of espionage, dubious campaign contributions, and a fifth column reverberate throughout the conservative political spectrum with images of a Manchurian Candidate as the queen-of-diamond protagonist. Lt. General Mi Zhenyu, Vice Commander, Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing once wrote, "For a relatively long time it will be absolutely necessary that we quietly nurse our sense of vengeance, we must conceal our abilities and bide our time."
So, is Africa just a pawn in the wider-global machinations of China?
China cares little about Africa's internal conflicts and I dare say its people; she only wants access to its resources. This gives China the right to tell any country that pontificates on its internal issues to butt out. One can glean much by examining China's position on race to determine whether its intentions in Africa are honorable.
Guangzhou, China, 2009, had an African (mainly Nigerian) population estimated to be over 100,000 people. Much like China has myriad China Towns throughout the world, Guangzhou has what the Nigerians call Africa Town. This "Chocolate City," as the Chinese refer to it, is not without problems. An incident involving the police and a Nigerian led to six hours of unrest. A national talent show modeled after "American Idol" called, "Go! Oriental Angel" had a half-Black and half-Chinese contestant named Lou Jing, a citizen mind you, who evoked phone calls to the show of "Chocolate girl get out of China" and "She should never have been born." If these sentiments were isolated then they could be explained as such, but it is no secret that white skin in China has a long historical reverence while dark skin is disdained.
So, how can the Africans trust such a people to be fair when it comes to interactions resulting in resource removal from their country? Who benefits from this arrangement other than the Chinese and the African dictators? The Chinese, amazingly, don't even have to hire the indigenous Africans to do the work. They are allowed to import Chinese workers from China. Sounds like an equitable arrangement to me.
