Opinion
The West’s baloney about Africa – China cooperation
By Wang Xiangjiang
In recent years, the West has conjured up fantastic theories like “neocolonialism”, “China is exploiting Africa’s resources,” etc., effectively throwing mud at China over its win-win cooperation with Africa.
These theories, however, have increasingly become unpopular as Africa and China have constantly expanded cooperation in terms of scope and content over the years to focus on building up Africa’s ability to sustain its own development and creating a win-win scenario.
At the just concluded African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the world witnessed the birth of a “century document” detailing Africa-China cooperation on infrastructure projects across the African continent.
Spanning nearly half a century and covering the entire African continent, this memorandum of understanding (MoU) has elevated China’s win-win relationship with Africa to a new height.
While African leaders embraced the blueprint designed to improve Africa’s infrastructure, which has long been stifling economic growth, some Western media were obviously not happy about it. Floating terms like “concrete diplomacy”, “neocolonialism”, etc, they opted to be a jealousy kind who loathed being sidelined and conspired to drive a wedge between two partners who do not fear to work up a sweat for better future.
“When the West labels Chinese investment and infrastructural projects in Africa as neocolonialism, it is a question of sour grapes,” said Professor Munene Macharia, lecturer of international relations with Kenya-based United States International University.
The notoriety of the West’s colonization in Africa, which lasted for hundreds of years dating back to the 15th century, is well-known to the world. Even today, Western powers, in particular those in western Europe separated from Africa only by the Mediterranean, cannot break out of a mentality to see Africa as their “backyard”. Long gone is the history of enslavement in Africa. But the ills of one-sided economic structure and backward infrastructure, left behind by Western colonizers, are not easily remedied. Today, Africa remains the only continent that has not realized industrialization. Africa’s weak status in the global economy had roots in the colonial past.
Natural resources like oil, gas and minerals in many African countries are in fact controlled by Western powers, who have taken advantage of their dominant role in the global economic and trade order. On the other hand, Africa has gained little as it has long been treated by the West as a material(s) supplier and market to dump industrial products.
“The West is not happy that China is working with Africa to overcome one of its biggest challenges that is faces today,” said Macharia. “The West has been in Africa for a long time but has never made development of Africa’s infrastructure as a priority.”
