The China Card

There is tendency in the 'West', one that it not difficult to pursue in light of its dismal human rights record, to accuse China of crassly exploiting Africa. A typical piece reads like this 2007 Ope-Ed in the NYTimes:

"The World Bank --- proposed a project based on the commonsense observation that there was no point in lending the Nigerians money without also tackling the corruption that had crippled the railways. After months of negotiation, the bank and Nigeria’s government agreed on a $5 million project that would allow private companies to come in and help clean up the railways.

But just as the deal was about to be signed, the Chinese government offered Nigeria $9 billion to rebuild the entire rail network — no bids, no conditions and no need to reform. That was when my friend (an aid-worker) packed his suitcase and went to the airport."

Ah yes, Western paternalism at its finest. Apparently Americans still believe Africans cannot count. And there the truth lies naked. Having learned from 100 years of colonial rule the fine distinction between imperialism and political corruption Africans have decided that an aspiring capitalist always sells to the highest bidder.

Another pet argument is that Chinese projects in Africa largely ignore environmental consequences. No doubt that is true but talk about the pot calling out the kettle. Where in Africa has a Chinese company left behind this kind of devastation?

Nigerian Delta courtesy of Shell Oil

How many activists have they caused to be killed.

The truth is the West had its chance to befriend the African. But instead, it stole his resources then left him a continent riven by war, racism and under-development. China, on the other hand, has not sought any overt quid pro quo beyond a chance to do business.. Take for example their approach to tackling the problem of snail fever. "We will share with them our methods so they can design their solutions according to their own situation," said Zhou Xiaonong, director of China's National Institute of Parasitic Diseases in Shanghai.

The West response to the end of the Cold War was to give Africa the cold shoulder. China saw its chance and grabbed it:

"[the] Chinese advantage has been that many countries in Africa, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia and Sudan, feel a sense of obligation toward China after it helped them when they were confronted with the spectre of civil war following the demise of the Soviet Union.

After a surge of attention on the continent during the Cold War, the US and Russia lost interest in spending money in Africa, leaving instability—and space for China to step in. The gaps the two big powers left that China has sought to fill were big ones, with many African nations having depended heavily on their Cold War sponsors in the 1960s and 1970s for state-building assistance after securing independence from their colonial masters. Withdrawal pulled the rug from under any prospects for stability."

The truth is the Chinese in Africa are on the right side of history. It is a history most Africans will not soon forget.

The Frog and the Scorpion

There are those who slave and there are those who eat.

From the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: "there could be 9.1 billion people living on Earth in 2050 ... worldwide demand for food is expected to rise by 50 percent."

Fortune Magazine predicts that "as per capita incomes rise in China, India, and other parts of Asia, hundreds of millions of people will be adding meat to their daily fare. [This] ... will have a multiplier effect on demand because of the massive amounts of grain used to feed livestock. It takes seven pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef.

And there are those who feast.

The mood in the Stuyvesant Room of N.Y.'s Marriott Hotel is buoyant. For the handful of men and women in attendance, hunger is good business. The combination of more people and less land makes food a safe investment, with annual returns of 20 to 30 percent.

Susan Payne, chief executive of Emergent Asset Management, thinks farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is a real hot bet: "their farmland prices are the lowest in the world," She should know, the concern Ms. Payne represents now own 370,000 acres of arable land mainly in South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.

Baron Rothschild agrees the market is bullish but warns that such investments risk being perceived as a blatant land grab and therefore: “An element of self policing must be adopted when dealing with farmland."

African farmers are no doubt comforted to hear that. Or not.

21st century Global Capitalism: 19th century colonialism to the 2nd power.



Oxford historian, James Anthony Froude, who once wrote that the Irish were "more like squalid apes than human beings" also observed that "England governed Ireland for what she deemed her own interest, making her calculations on the gross balance of her trade ledgers, and leaving moral obligations aside, as if right and wrong had been blotted out of the statute book of the Universe."

Word to the poor: Please, die quietly.

Asked to explain his country's touted economic growth despite reports of widespread hunger Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi responded that "the famine of 1984 was precipitated by drought in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general. The famine that could emerge as a result of this [current] crises is likely to be silent... [with] people suffering hunger quietly across the continent.

Mr. Zenawi, however, is a well-rewarded partner in the "War on Terror".

The consequence of recolonization under the guise of neoliberalism was predictable. As Prof. Michel Chossudovsky wrote back in 2001: The"economic therapy" imposed under IMF-World Bank jurisdiction is in large part responsible for triggering famine and social devastation in Ethiopia and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. [U]nder WTO rules, the agri-biotech conglomerates can manipulate market forces to their advantage."

Thirty years after encouraging laissez-faire policies that have large parts of Asia and Africa replicating scenes from Ireland's Great Famine the World Bank admits that the gobbling of local land by global investors has led to hunger and devastation: "by targeting countries with weak laws, buying arable land on the cheap, and then failing to deliver on promises of jobs and investments, [foreign investors] inflict serious damage."

Asked why he stung the frog who had just carried him on his back across the river, the scorpion replied, "because I'm a scorpion". The World Bank might have asked the frog if he thought a hedge fund manager can be 'self-policing'.

"Farmland is going to be one of the best investments of our time," says commodities guru Jim Rogers, adviser to AgCapita. "Eventually, of course, food prices will get high enough that the market probably will be flooded ... but that's a long ways away yet." And by then he and his investors will be rich and safe and across the stream.

The Enclaved

When I first saw the name I wondered why on earth Buick would name its new line "Enclave". (Webster's defines an 'enclave' as a place or territory surrounded by a foreign country.) Turns out the 'Enclave' is the perfect name to describe the new kinship between G.M. and China. Not only is Buick the biggest star in Shanghai, Chinese companies have been busy carving out enclaves of their own in post-colonial Africa.

The New Enclave



As labor scholar Ching Kwan Lee explains: the Chinese translation of enclave, feidi, means 'flying lands' and like GM's niche in China aptly describes China's presence in Africa.

There are many ironies in this post Cold War development. While global capitalism has encouraged greater inter-national collaboration most managers are imported and personal contact is minimal. Workers are often made to feel like aliens in their own countries. Despite Chinese investment in Africa their presence is restricted to isolated enclaves. The Chinese live together, they construct their own compounds.

At home China's nouveau riche crave the big shiny objects we Americans use to project our wealth but their success in Africa is due to the admiration Africans have for Chinese frugality and modest life style. "In contrast with Western expatriates, says Prof. Deborah Brautigam of American University’s School of International Service, the Chinese always live at or below “local standards” - even when it’s quite within their means to live lavishly."

With the ice caps melting and cheap oil drying up there is a lesson to be learned dear grasshopper.