China in Africa: Partner, Competitor or Hegemon? (African Arguments)

171 Pages·2007·0.73 MB·English

by  Chris Alden

About the author
Chris Alden is a Senior Lecturer in the
Department of International Relations at the
London School of Economics. He has researched
and published on Asian–African relations for
over fifteen years. He has previously taught at
the University of the Witwatersrand, and held
research fellowships at the University of Tokyo,
the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the University
of Cambridge.
African Arguments
African Arguments is a series of short books about Africa today.
Aimed at the growing number of students and general readers
who want to know more about the continent, these books
intend to highlight many of the longer-term strategic as well as
immediate political issues confronting the African continent.
They will get to the heart of why Africa is the way it is and how it
is changing. The books are scholarly but engaged, substantive
as well as topical.
Series editors
alex de waal, Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University
richard dowden, Executive Director, Royal African Society
Editorial board
emmanuel akyeampong, Harvard University
tim allen, London School of Economics and Political
Science
akwe amosu, Open Society Institute
craig calhoun, Social Sciences Research Council
peter da costa, journalist and development specialist
william gumede, journalist and author
alcinda honwana, Open University
abdul mohammed, InterAfrica Group
Titles already published
Julie Flint and Alex de Waal, Darfur: A Short History of a Long War
Tim Allen, Trial Justice: The International Criminal Court and
the Lord’s Resistance Army
Alex de Waal, AIDS and Power: Why There Is No Political Crisis
– Yet
Raymond W. Copson, The United States in Africa: Bush Policy
and Beyond
Forthcoming
Mary Harper, Getting Somalia Wrong
Published by Zed Books and the IAI with the support of
the following organizations:
Global Equity Initiative The Global Equity Initiative seeks to
advance our understanding and tackle the challenges of globally
inequitable development. Located at Harvard University, it has
international collaborative research programmes on security, health,
capabilities and philanthropy. <www.fas.harvard.edu/~acgei/>
InterAfrica Group The InterAfrica Group is the regional centre for
dialogue on issues of development, democracy, conflict resolution and
humanitarianism in the Horn of Africa. It was founded in 1988 and is
based in Addis Ababa, and has programmes supporting democracy in
Ethiopia and partnership with the African Union and IGAD. <www.sas.
upenn.edu/African_Studies/ Hornet/menu_Intr_Afr.html>
International African Institute The International African Institute’s
principal aim is to promote scholarly understanding of Africa, notably
its changing societies, cultures and languages. Founded in 1926 and
based in London, it supports a range of seminars and publications
including the journal Africa. <www.iaionthe.net>
Justice Africa Justice Africa initiates and supports African civil
society activities in support of peace, justice and democracy in Africa.
Founded in 1999, it has a range of activities relating to peace in the
Horn of Africa, HIV/AIDS and democracy, and the African Union.
<www.justiceafrica.org>
Royal African Society Now more than a hundred years old, the Royal
African Society today is Britain’s leading organization promoting
Africa’s cause. Through its journal, African Affairs, and by organizing
meetings, discussions and other activities, the society strengthens links
between Africa and Britain and encourages understanding of Africa and
its relations with the rest of the world. <www.royalafricansociety.org>
Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research
Council brings much needed expert knowledge to public issues.
Founded in 1923 and based in New York, it brings together researchers,
practitioners and policy-makers in every continent. <www.ssrc.org>

chris alden
China in Africa
Zed Books
london | new york
David Philip
cape town
in association with
International African Institute
Royal African Society
Social Science Research Council
China in Africa was first published in association with the
International African Institute, the Royal African Society and the Social
Science Research Council in 2007 by
in Southern Africa: David Philip (an imprint of New Africa Books)
99 Garfield Road, Claremont 7700, South Africa
in the rest of the world: Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London n1
9jf, uk and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010, usa
www.zedbooks.co.uk
www.iaionthe.net
www.royalafricansociety.org
www.ssrc.org
Second impression 2008
Copyright © Chris Alden, 2007
The right of Chris Alden to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988.
Cover designed by Andrew Corbett
Set in Arnhem and Futura Bold by Ewan Smith, London
index: <[email protected]>
Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn
Distributed in the usa exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division
of St Martin’s Press, llc, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without
the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
us cip data are available from the Library of Congress
isbn 978 1 84277 863 0 hb
isbn 978 1 84277 864 7 pb
Contents
Acknowledgements | viii
Abbreviations | x
Introduction 1
1 China’s new foreign policy towards Africa 8
2 The Chinese in Africa: capitalists, comrades
and carpet-baggers 37
3 Africa turns east 59
4 Between hope and fear: Western reactions
to China 93
5 Consolidating China–Africa relations 120
Notes | 137
Index | 152
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank a number of people who were instru-
mental in either the research contributing to this book or
bringing it into being. Robert Molteno, who encouraged me
to embark on the book project in the first place, deserves
many thanks. Along with Robert, Ellen McKinlay has given
generously of her time and insights throughout this project
and managed to keep me on track! Rosemary Taylorson,
David Birkett, Andrew Harrison and Julian Hosie have
shown real enthusiasm in promoting the book, something
that is increasingly rare in publishing. And thanks to Ewan
Smith for pulling the manuscript together on short notice.
To those who kindly read parts or all of the manuscript I
owe a debt of gratitude. Robert, Ellen, Alex de Waal, Ricardo
Soares de Oliveira, Dan Large and Wayne MacGregor have
provided me with important insights and correctives that
have made the book a better piece than it was. Any remain-
ing errors, of course, are attributable to me.
In addition to those listed above, others who have
helped me to understand better this relationship between
China and Africa, either through discussions or through
their work, include Ai Ping, Peter Bosshard, P. J. Botha,
Martyn Davies, Carla Freeman, He Wenping, Christopher
R. Hughes, Garth le Pere, Li Anshan, Andy Rothman, Barry
Sautman, David Shambaugh, Garth Shelton, Shu Zhan,
Philip Snow, Riaan Meyer, Ian Taylor, Willem van der Spuy,
Michael Yahuda. Sincere apologies to those who I have
left out due to haste and memory! The East Asia Project,
University of the Witwatersrand, deserves to be ‘noted in the
viii
minutes’ for ushering in this whole research agenda and
supporting it unstintingly over the years.
And to Kato, Rachel and Jonathan, who have endured this
obsession with China and Africa for a long, long time with
patience and good humour.
ix