China s Growing Presence in Africa Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security

Transcription

1 China s Growing Presence in Africa Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security Views of African and Chinese Scholars The poorest and least educated Chinese (many from the Fujian Province) have come to Africa seeking a better life indicating that the conditions they left on the ground in China were extremely harsh. The Chinese immigrants arrive with little support from home and little or no support either financially or legally from the host nations often making them victims of corruption and abuse from local officials. September 2012 Marie L. Besançon, PhD Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa SCRAT - Socio-Cultural Research Advisory Team HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil 1 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

2 China s Growing Presence in Africa & Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security 1 Views of African and Chinese Scholars The Chinese and Africans are highly concerned about the effect of the foreign militaries in Africa. African Scholars on the one hand are grateful for the unfettered aid given by the Chinese, but on the other hand, critical of the shift away from the democracy paradigm. African and Chinese scholars provide a unique viewpoint, not often expressed by Western scholars, on China s micro and macro involvement in Africa. Both the African and Chinese academics from recent seminars in Addis Ababa, support the popular notion of African solutions for African problems. However, Africa is growing in prestige and relevance in a multi-polar world, and its enormous resources are crucial for the world s sustainable development catapulting the issues back into the global arena. Scholars agree that stable governance, long term planning, and infrastructure development are needed to manage Africa s rich natural resources and the huge opportunities. Tangential to development and resources, the Chinese want to be bigger players and partners with the Africans in peace keeping and stabilization on the African continent, making it an area conducive to investment and development. 2 The Chinese believe that economic development and the promotion of harmony, inclusiveness, justice, and reconciliation could help treat some of the root causes of conflict in Africa, even piracy. They provide unconditional aid to the Africans; however, African scholars see the danger of a paradigm shift away from democracy as a result of unfettered aid. Though the Chinese deal on the macro level very efficiently with African nations, they may have to address some of the micro issues of the poorer Chinese immigrants to Africa in order to mitigate repercussions in the poorer provinces back in their homeland of China. Africa in Their Words: A Study of Chinese Traders in South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, and Zambia done by South African writers from the Brenthurst Foundation - depicts the ordinary Chinese seeking a living on the ground in the relatively harsh conditions in Africa. From one side, the poorest and least educated Chinese (many from the Fujian Province) have come to Africa seeking a better life indicating that the conditions they left on the ground in China were extremely harsh. The Chinese immigrants arrive with little support from home and little or no support either financially or legally from the host nations often making them victims of corruption and abuse from local officials. 3 From another side, the larger infrastructure projects financed by the Chinese are done through government to government 1 References from publications are cited in this paper, or directly from African and Chinese academics presented in several seminars in Ethiopia in May of 2012 [China s Growing Presence in Africa ( Africa in Their Words ) & Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security in Africa]: whose participants are found in Appendix I. (Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan) Conference participants are not cited for particular remarks as per Chatham House rules, however, their opinions can be found in their published papers July 2011, AU Commission and People s Republic of China signed a protocol- PRC will provide to AMISOM 30 million RMB, or $4,526, The Brenthurst Foundation team travelled to five countries and interviewed 200 Chinese traders in southern Africa. Their interpreter was a highly educated Chinese working in South Africa. 2 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

3 agreements with the full support and protection of the host nation. The African nations have minimal entry requirements and regulations for skills and education that allow Chinese immigrants with little education and few resources to compete. These immigrants have either lost their jobs in China or were unable to compete in China s hyper competitive job market, though few of them were previously traders. Some Africans suffer from a certain amount of xenophobia and have fears that the Chinese are taking their jobs and businesses. 4 Nevertheless, the Chinese are willing to work long hours seven days a week, and they overcome supply line weaknesses by diversifying their products and importing from multiple venues. The Africans perceive that China and the outsiders are developing their natural resources to the detriment of the local people and economy. Conversely, the inexpensive products that the Chinese sell enable the Africans with limited financial means to buy goods they were previously unable to obtain. There is evidence that the relationships between the Chinese traders and the local communities are getting worse and could cause tensions leading to future violence. 5 The deteriorating situation might force China to intervene with African governments to mitigate the secondary effects fomenting unrest in the poor regions of origins in China. On the peace and security side, Ambassador Xie Xiaoyan (People s Republic of China) spoke on causes of disputes and areas of cooperation at a recent meeting in Addis. 6 In particular, the AU and China have increased their cooperation, and accordingly, their zero tolerance for illegal states. China claims a leading role in the AU with resolving conflict, and to be one of the largest contributors to peace efforts of the five members of the Security Council. 7 China strives to solve prevailing challenges in the African continent by providing grants, interest free loans, infrastructure and business support, and assistance with capacity building. There is a broad belief internationally that China has a potential for helping prevent an oil war between the two Sudans. China could help break the deadlock and diffuse a dangerous situation said one Sudanese scholar. South Sudan should strengthen relationships with stakeholders work on trust and strategic partnership in oil, thus stabilizing the region and ensuring the safe development of its resources. Though Chinese scholars at the conferences made it clear that they understand the necessity of addressing human rights issues, rule of law, social mobilization, transitional justice, security, and even democracy, their controlled government system still requires them to describe (in public forums) multi-party democracy as a type of Pandora s Box evil. 8 The Chinese note that constitutional order is fragile in some African countries, but warn against outside intervention. Among threats to the continent cited, are conflicts that damage infrastructure and the economy, and new threats of terrorism. 4 This is not so different from the American view of Mexican immigrants to California. 5 Brenthurst Foundation Paper 2012: Africa in Their Words: A Study of Chinese Traders in South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, and Zambia. 6 Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security in Africa, Addis Ababa May Ibid note #2 8 Most of the scholars mentioned justice, development, democracy, and even human rights. However, several threw in comments about the evils of multi-party democracy one calling it a Pandora s Box. 3 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

4 Other threats to security are weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and remnants of a Cold War mentality that is still around causing arms races with $1.63 trillion of world military spending. While the US spends 711 billion per year (44 percent of world expenditures), all of Africa spends only $30 billion. 9 The prevailing attitude from the academic world is that Africa should remain a nuclear free zone. The Chinese point of view is that African nations should spend their money on economic development and leave the security issues to the regional organizations such as the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and the African Union (AU) which would lower the security costs of protection. African and Chinese scholars are very leery of foreign military presence in Africa which both the Chinese and Africans consider a threat. Among the foreign military presence are the British, French, Japanese, American, Italian, Spanish and German armies as well as small numbers of Chinese participating in peacekeeping operations. African scholars generally echo the need for stability, economic development, good governance and security voiced by the Chinese, and the Africans welcome the Chinese as strategic and business partners who do not view the Africans as charity cases. Disillusioned with the IMF and World Bank, the Africans look to China for no strings attached help. The Africans also remain grateful to China for the aid they brought to the liberation movements in Africa of forty years ago. On the negative side: China s demands for natural resources are driving up the world s prices. China is the biggest consumer of zinc, copper, crude oil, and timber from Africa. 10 The Africans criticize China for its contribution to environmental degradation, its exploitative labor practices (textiles), its sub-standard products, its lack of support to multi-lateral organizations, and China s colonial like behavior. Some politicians, journalists, and African scholars say that China-in- Africa is a conflict in the making with the West or perhaps already an open conflict over resources. They suggest that Africa, China and the West should have a triangular relationship to mitigate conflict and coordinate development of resources. 11 In conclusion, scholars are all about emphasizing institution building and supporting multilateral regional forces to more efficiently and economically maintain stability in the region. They indicate that the constraints to progress are in: the nexus between African ownership vs. external funding, self determinations vs. external intervention, sovereignty vs. responsibility to protect, and collective coercion vs. collective action. The Chinese want to support the multilateral institutions such as the AU, EASF, EAC, APSA, ECOWAS, IGAD, ECCAS, and ASF. 12 The 9 Note this is Chinese data from the Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security in Africa Symposium. Appendices II and III have SIPRI Data from the top 25 spending countries in Africa on defense. SIPRI estimates world military expenditures to have been $1738 billion in The USA's military spending accounted for 41 per cent of the world total in 2011, followed by China with 8.2 per cent, Russia with 4.1% and the UK and France with 3.6 per cent each. SIPRI data All Africa spending for billion. 10 Brenthurst Study 2012, and Dr. Debay Tadessa. See Appendix IV 11 Anne-Kathrin Keller China in Africa: Comparison of EU s and China s Approach towards Africa, the Role of Infrastructure Investments and African Perceptions of China. Master s thesis. Recommends a triangle for EU/Africa/China, generally agreesing with the African perceptions. 12 AU (African Union), EASF (East Africa Standby Force), EAC (East African Community), APSA (African Peace and Security Architecture), ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development), ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States), and ASF (African Standby Force). 4 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

5 Africans acknowledge that many African leaders steal funds and take them to UK, Malaysia, and the Caribbean, but not to China, and are grateful for the unconditional aid and development. Furthermore, the Chinese tend to view them as true partners. The fear of foreign militaries and the diminishing democracy paradigm, concerns of the Chinese and the Africans, lend serious food for thought. As previously stated, there are many foreign militaries in Africa including militant groups directed by foreigners like Al Qaeda. The U.S. military s enlarging footprint certainly is a concern for many African nations as well as the Chinese. It could be said that the US is indirectly supporting autocratic regimes in the area, by rent and other monetary support (on many levels), so it is difficult to just point the finger at the Chinese and their unfettered aid. The Chinese in fact get land or other rights in trade for their development aid. The U.S. renders unfettered aid to Djibouti in the form of rents and development purely to maintain domicile rights. The regime could hardly be called democratic, and there is certainly evidence of repression. Though conflict between the U.S. and China is not evident, some African scholars think that it is inevitable if not already occurring. 5 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

6 APPENDIX I: Scholars at the Brenthurst Seminars: China s Growing Presence in Africa ( Africa in Their Words ) May 2012 Dr. Greg Mills (Executive Director of Brenthurst Foundation) Dr. Terrence McNamee (Deputy Director) Dr. Christopher Clapham (Retired Cambridge Professor) Dr. Maru Taddele Mehari (ISS) Scholars at the ISS / Chinese Embassy led Symposium: Sino-African Union Cooperation in Peace and Security in Africa May 2012 AMB Olusegun AKINSANYA Regional Director of ISS Addis Ababa Ethiopia H.E. Ambassador XIE Xiaoyan - People s Republic of China Embassy to Ethiopia Professor YANG Lihua - Senior Research Fellow-Institute of West Asian & African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Science Dr. Tebay TADESSE Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis, ISS Ethiopia Professor HE Wenping, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of West Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Eleanor MAERESERA - African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) Professor ZHOU Haijin Institute of African Studies, Xheijiang Normal University Professor XIA Liping Vice Director General, Department of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Management H.E. Berhane DERESSA Former Mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Ato (Mr.) Demesse FANTAYE Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences and International Relations, Addis Ababa University Professor ZHANG Chun Senior Fellow, Deputy Director, Center for West Asian and African Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies Dr. Samson S. WASSARA Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Juba, South Sudan 6 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

7 Appendix II SIPRI: top spending countries in Africa on Military Expenditures (in millions of US Dollars) Rank Country st. Algeria 3,557 4,173 4,862 5,281 5,586 2nd. Egypt 4,413 4,444 4,139 4,017 3,914 3rd. Angola 2,728 2,393 2,479 3,165 3,774 4th. South Africa 3,782 3,713 3,647 3,813 3,735 5th. Morocco 2,490 2,565 2,861 3,055 3,256 6th. Nigeria 879 1,021 1,435 1,504 1,724 7th. Kenya th. Tunisia th. Cameroon th. Botswana th. Ethiopia th. Namibia th. Uganda th. Zambia th. Chad th. Senegal th. Mali th. Congo, Dem Rep. 19th. Burkina Faso th. Gabon st. Congo nd. Ghana rd. Swaziland th. Zimbabwe th. Rwanda HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

8 Appendix III SIPRI: Military Expenditures as percent of GDP Country st. Chad nd. Angola rd. Algeria th. Mauritania th. Namibia th. Morocco th. Swaziland th. Botswana th. Lesotho th. Egypt th. Kenya th. Mali th. Central Afr Rep th. Uganda th. Zambia th. Cameroon th. Senegal th. Rwanda th. Tunisia th. South Africa st. Burkina Faso nd. Seychelles rd. Tanzania th. Congo, Dem. Rep th. Ethiopia HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon

9 Appendix IV From Brenthurst 2012 Paper Africa in Their Words: A Study of Chinese Traders in South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, and Zambia 9 HOA_J5_SCRAT_Group@hoa.usafricom.mil Dr. Marie L. Besançon