China-Africa relations and the West’s stunned fears

It all started in December 1963. Chinese leader Zhou Enlai visited ten African countries within two months, promoting the role of countries that do not submit to the West. Among these is Egypt, which is having tensions with the West over its nationalization of the Suez Canal. Then Guinea and Mali both rejected General De Gaulle’s proposal for an African Community of Nations.

The purpose of this tour is to search for cobalt, necessary for China’s nuclear program as well as political support. In betting on a large African peasantry to attract continental support for China’s rhetoric, Zhou Enlai offered an alternative to the Western model of universalism. offensive.

Beijing and African development

After this foundational trip, China under Hu Jintao aimed for a separate development strategy by relying on about 100 non-governmental organizations such as the China Poverty Reduction Foundation (APFC), the Red Cross, and with many activities directly sponsored by the Chinese government, according to Mr. Liu Hongwu, director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, listed on the website Conflit, specializing in geopolitics. lead back.

Every year, Beijing plans to fund funds for the continent within the framework of its African aid program, but it is usually granted in the form of credit. For example, in 2018, Xi Jinping announced $60 billion in aid, delivered through interest-free loans, financing imports of African goods, and support for Chinese businesses.

At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2015, Beijing outlined an action plan, focusing mainly on « infrastructure development, health care, agriculture, climate change and humanitarian purposes, to support African countries in fighting poverty, improving living conditions as well as building a sustainable development. independence. »

Not only does this policy remain unchanged, but at FOCAC in 2023, Mr. Xi Jinping also presented three main aid axes for Africa: Industrializing the continent by developing the manufacturing sector, Modernizing the model agricultural model and training hundreds of African officials and technicians in China.

Fear of the West

If Beijing is very active in the fields of infrastructure construction, disease prevention, poverty reduction, and agricultural development in many African countries, then the West’s biggest fear is China will trap the dark continent in a debt trap.

A tactic that the West used in the past to build its own colonial empire. This is exactly what France did to occupy Tunisia in 1881 after the country failed to repay bonds issued by Paris banker Emile Erlanger.

Journalist Guy-Alexandre Le Roux, the author of the article, recalled that until the 2000s, European countries were the main donors to sub-Saharan Africa. In 1996, Africa was in a dangerous debt situation. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) together with the World Bank (World Bank – WB) want to reduce debt for the most indebted poor countries (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries – HIPC), of which there are 33 near-indebted African countries. Sahara.

Limited results led to a recovery that ultimately led to a collapse in 2005-2006. China and its (private) bond lenders have been quick to fill the gap created by debt relief efforts. If we include the World Bank, these three major actors currently hold two-thirds of Africa’s debt.

But the proportion of Africa’s debt held by China is a major concern. In the event of a country’s inability to repay, Beijing has an excellent argument to seize the country’s vital levers to collect its own debt. There are great difficulties in Africa due to the actions of Russia, the West, and especially France, who are afraid of being expelled from the continent forever.

As of 2022, the three African countries that owe the most to China are Angola ($36 billion), Ethiopia (7.9 billion) and Kenya (7.4 billion). In 2021, a total of 21 African countries each owe more than a billion dollars to China, while in 17 other countries, more than 60% of current bilateral debt is held by China.

However, according to research from researchers at Germany’s Kiel Institute, China’s “checkbook diplomacy” policy is not simple. On the one hand, the majority of loans are provided by the China Development Bank (CDB) and the export credit agency Eximbank. On the other hand, these loan contracts are often very vague and bring many risks to a country’s right to self-determination.

Kiel Institute studies of about 100 secret loan contracts between China and 24 African countries totaling $36.6 billion, published in 2019, showed that all of the contracts were Conclusions with CDB all have a very specific clause: Severing relations with China is considered insolvency and breach of contract.

Similarly, Beijing has the right to unilaterally terminate certain contracts in the event of internal political changes. This clause gives China the right to demand immediate repayment of the money owed, a financial disaster for the targeted country. The researchers also found “No Paris Club” clauses in three-quarters of the contracts.

The Paris Club is a group of public creditors that comes together when a country has difficulty repaying its debt. This organization helps the government eliminate part of its debt and restructure the remaining debt. In contracts, China explicitly requires loans to be excluded from these reforms. Similarly, Beijing can claim priority over other creditors in the event of debt repayment difficulties.

These secret clauses protect China against default, and ensure the political loyalty of African debtors. Some researchers criticize China for proposing unfair treaties with Africa, which in the past have exhausted Africa. Can the West really blame China for trying to ensure the safety of its capital flows?

According to journalist Guy-Alexandre Le Roux, Zambia is a typical example of Western fears. The West African country is 750,000 square kilometers wide and has a population of about 20 million people. It is heavily indebted, of which China accounts for 21% of the total debt. In 2020, because it could not repay its debt, Zambia had to convince China to restructure its debt, which the country achieved in exchange for integrating a large number of Chinese people in the country’s economy.

As a result, the Chinese now largely control mining activities such as copper, which are valuable for new technology. If the president of Zambia always praises the worthy role of Chinese businesses, the presidential advisor in the reportage of France 24 admitted that the government of this country ” There are no exact figures on China’s copper exports », before concluding that « Transparency agreements are lies ». People are increasingly displeased with the presence of Chinese businesses and many anti-China protests have broken out. Beijing is now anxiously monitoring the situation.

Africa is not a priority for China

Does China have ambitions to take over Africa? This Western worry seems to be exaggerated. African debt is truly a great tool for Beijing to open businesses, ensure the supply of raw materials and fuel, and assert a near monopoly in technology-related mineral exploitation activities.

Beijing clearly understands Africa’s limitations and certainly does not seek to repeat the West’s mistakes. This is evident in China’s direct investments (IDE) in Africa, which account for only 2.7% of all Chinese investments worldwide. And two-thirds of the total investment of nearly five billion dollars is concentrated in just seven countries. The conclusion that can be drawn is that China does not believe in Africa’s development and they prefer to apply the “overseas economy – colonial economy” model in this continent.

China puts Africa in debt to penetrate the economy and plunder its resources, but certainly not to expand its territory into Africa. This is a very Western vision of the Chinese empire.

The second indicator is that China’s lending activities have shown signs of slowing down since the 2000s. Liquidity is poor due to domestic economic difficulties, when it is recognized that Africa is a poor borrower and Loan requirements are often not commensurate with projects, China proves more difficult.

Africa: Raw material supply, guard post for BRI

In fact, Africa is not Beijing’s main concern, but its vision is always directed to Europe. The new Silk Road projects initiated by Mr. Xi Jinping since 2013 are completely oriented towards the Old Continent. China must ensure that African and customs clearance points have all the characteristics to serve as transit points. That is the key to the traditional route to India.

China has increased its presence in major seaports, especially in West Africa and East Africa. The new military base in Djibouti provides the Chinese empire with a certain ability to deploy troops on the continent and especially surveillance capabilities.

On a broader scale of analysis, Africa’s place in China’s international strategy lies in the doctrine: « Major powers are the key, neighboring countries are the priority, developing countries are the foundation, and the multilateral arena is the important arena. ».

Although there are limitations in the “checkbook diplomacy” policy, Beijing clearly has gained valuable international support, of which the Taiwan issue is a typical example. In 2020, all African members of the Human Rights Council, except one country, passed a resolution initiated by China: « Promote mutual cooperation beneficial to the field of human rights ».

For the first time, many elements of “Xi Jinping Thought” have been included in a United Nations human rights document. Beijing is trying to promote this ideology everywhere, an ideology that brings together the political ideas for modern China.

Finally, China uses African countries to reconstruct the structure of multilateralism and compete with the West. What the West clumsily calls « global South », inherently does not have a civilized foundation like in « The West », in reality is just an alliance of countries wanting to create pressure in the international arena.

Beijing see « African brother countries » This is a great bridge for ideas « community of common destiny for humanity », a central element of China’s foreign policy towards the Southern countries. But in mainland China, the official statement that reigns publicly is that African countries only ” are returning the favor ».