Business
EthicsSA launches fact vs feelings survey on perceptions of Africa China growing trade
(PR Republic) – The Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA) has launched a survey to gauge perceptions about Chinese companies doing business across 15 African countries. The Institute’s CEO, Deon Rossouw, says the survey aims to provide a factual basis for dialog with the Chinese government and Chinese companies about their involvement in Africa.
“China has become a major investor across Africa and it’s clear that there are widespread negative perceptions about its involvement,” says Professor Rossouw.
“China is now Africa’s largest trading partner, and Chinese investment in Africa is now sitting at over US$120 billion per year. Given the importance of the relationship, particularly to Africa, we cannot rely on rumor and misinformation, hence the importance of this survey.”
According to Rossouw, it is important to recognize that Africa accounts for a relatively small percentage of China’s total foreign investment – approximately 10 percent, and yet attracts a disproportionate amount of attention.
Many believe this suits China as it deflects attention away from the major investments it is making in Asia, Europe and the United States.
“One must also concede that China has made a positive and very visible impact on Africa’s infrastructure, with many of the big projects across the continent funded by that country,” he says.
Several factors are contributing to negative perceptions about Chinese investment in Africa, Professor Rossouw believes. The most important is probably the Chinese policy of non-involvement in any trading partner’s internal politics; as a result, China has had high-profile interactions with administrations the western world likes to term as “dubious” such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.
