Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By Mweusi KARAKE
China is the largest developing country in the world, and although Africa is not a country, it is the continent with the largest number of developing countries. It is no surprise therefore, that the two would have a natural affinity to cooperate.
China made its first formal presence in Africa in 1955, and since then China has become a major actor with vital interests in the continent. The greater part of Chinese-African interaction occurred between 1960-65- at the height of African decolonization. The call to liberation struggles has long been a hallmark of Chinese policy. Peking furnished arms and training to several liberation movements such as: The Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), and Portuguese Guinea . The support to anti-apartheid movements in Southern Africa in particular the support of the Africa National Congress (ANC), while in Rwanda as far back as 1961, China gave support, to the refugees guerilla movement “inyenzi”, that was fighting the Belgian’s imposed stooge PARMEHUTU”interim government.
Even where China was not directly involved it provided inspiration for example, in Kenya, WaruhiuItote, one of the key leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising in British Kenya alongside Dedan Kimathi, called himself “General China”. One would have expected China to try and impose its will and preach to Africans on how to run their countries political and economic models, but this did not happen. When China was expelled from the UN in 1950 over the US backed Taiwan, China was in the cold and blackout for decades. Thanks to Africa wave of independence in the 60s, the newly independent African states and new members of the UN, China had a comradely that as a group could speak on her behalf. Africa was at the forefront of the struggle to restore China’s lawful seat at the UN which started in early 1960 but finally paid off in 1973.
At a Security Council meeting of 23rdNovember 1973, the General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, that re admitted China, thanks to Africa’s continued solidarity.To crown it allthe President of the council at that time;was no other than socialist Tanzanian’s young foreign Affairs Minister Salim Ahmed Salim. Minister SalimAhmed Salim was not in good books of the imperial west for a number of reasons. Number one, he was a Muslim where the colonial religion across Africa was Christianity. The second sin, he was socialist. Third, he was a pan Africanist, a movement that US and Europe fought against so much. Salim’s fourth sin was that his country Tanzania, was the Centre of what was known as “frontline States” that were training and with the help of progressive countries like China, to liberate the remnants of colonial and apartheid southern Africa.The list of the reasons why Salim Ahmed Salim was a pariah to the west is endless.
Once the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, that re admitted China; the African senior diplomat, Salim Ahmed Salim, shed off his diplomacy and deliberately refused to wear the neutral cloak of a meeting president! He simply did what Africans then did at liberation. He danced at the podium, constituting another sin towards the west. The grudge that the US carried against him was to be reflected in when the US vetoed him in 1981, despite getting the majority vote in round one; Salim Ahmed salim an African candidate was trying to be the first African contesting to be the UN Secretary General.
At the re readmission of China to the UN after 23 years in limbo, representatives at the Security Council made formal statements welcoming the People’s Republic of China. In his statement, Salim Ahmed Salim said, “We weren’t against the US but we supported China because more than 600 million people were denied their representation at the UN when China was expelled”. The 600 million people looks as a small population compared to China’s population today in 2024. But in at that time, the world population was less than 4 billion.
The Magnet between China and Africa
The Chinese model of development and experiencewas attractive to Africa. China did not shy away tostruggle against the superpowers, the U.S. and even the Soviet Union to which every communist movement was linked. China identified itself with the Third World against them. But even more importantly, whereas theCIA murdered African progressive newly elected post-independence African leaders like Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba or organised coup d’état’sagainst Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, China’s Unity and solid relationship with Africa became impenetrable.
The African and other third world countries’ support towards readmission of China to the UN Security Councilpaid big dividends; China was not just re admitted as a member of UN but also became a permanent member of the Security Council. China became the defacto representative of the developingcountries (by then called underdeveloped world). The UN Security council was and still is the most undemocratic organ on planet Earth. Prior to the entry of China, there were three permanent members representing the western ideology, Christianity and colonialism: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States (forget the fact that the US was a British colony, it still represents the Anglo Saxon views of the world). The only odd person on the table was the USSR (Russia Federation). But don’t be cheated about today’s new world order, the USSR was then at the high table for historical reasons. Russians were at the forefront of defeating NAZI Germany. So at the end of the so called World War II, Russia was a bed fellow with all those UN western founding members that allocated themselves the power of “life and deaths” over less powerful countries. As indicated, the UN wasa product of the end of the Second World War. Any of these “world war II’ victors could and still can overrule any decision democratically agreed upon by the whole world!
Thus, the readmission of China to the UN was very significant to the entire “3rd world” as we were known then. China as a permanent UN member became a voice for the voiceless developing world. The old adage recommends that “if you can’t fight them join them.” Developing countries originally called underdeveloped; had no chance whatsoever to change the UN Systems, but at least and at last; their interests would be taken care of by The People’s Republic of China. Finally the exploited world had one of their own at the UN high table
China does not punish Africa for not using Chop sticks.
Since the above scenario; China thanks to its political and development model; has become an economic giant, second only to USA, and in one or two decades it will be the world’s number one economic giant. All former colonial masters that ruled over Africa are currently economically weaker than china. The remnants of the power is that colonialist managed to brainwash us into abandoning our culture and imposed on us their languages as superior to ours; and I plead guilty to accepting this superiority, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this piece in English!
One of the greatest magnets between Africa and Chinais the fact that; despite China’s economic might, it does not in any way try to impose China’s values to Africans. Nor put conditionalities on partnership.
Five years ago Rwanda banned the import of second hand clothing. Rwanda had been importing used clothes for over 50 years, killing the local textile startups, at times the imported products were humiliating and embarrassing such as women under wear and bras!
Rwanda’s ban on these used clothes was aimed at boosting the local textile industry. But exporters of these humiliating products in the US had as strong lobby at all levels of US lawmaking organs. The Congress, the Senate and whatever matters. As a result, the US cancelled Rwanda’s duty free export privileges that had been gifted by President Clinton under the “Africa Growth and opportunity Act” (AGOA). Only Heavens can know the growth opportunity that exists in importing discarded American garments! Of course these garments of dead people and other unwanted garbage’s would cause disposal problem if they were not dumped in some African countries like Rwanda.Unfortunately, Clinton’s gift was literary a gift with Nocontractual obligations, meaning that any of his successors would erase it just like my grandchildren in pre-school can erase their pencil poorly written class work! I have searched but have failed to come across any deal between Rwanda and China written in erasable kindergarten pencil work.
In 2023, Washington was at war with other African countries over their refusal to accept the homosexuals(LGBT rights). Uganda was among the first targets that Washington issued a stinging rebuke to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s government, for clearly stating that the Bible which the western religions brought to Africa and the law of nature are against homosexuality. In the usual Museven’s simplification of complex issues, he simply said, “we know the address of sex and the one you are proposing is not is not one of them.”
The United States President Joe Biden called the move “a tragic violation” of human rights and said Washington would evaluate the implications of the law “on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda.”
“We are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption,”. Corruption!!!!!! What corruption was involved in this case? SoonKenya and other African countries followed suit. China with more than 1.3 billion people, in one year, they go through billions of the throwaway utensils. To narrow on just one item chop sticks. Ii is estimated that about 130 million pairs of chopsticks are discarded every day! That is more than 33 billion used chop sticks per annum. Can you imagine if China was to sanction a country for refusing to import used chop sticks juts like America sanctioned Rwanda for refusing to import used clothes?
Can you imagine if China was to tell African countries that if you continue eating with your hands or using western knives and folks instead of Chop sticks we shall stop cooperation? I personally like experimenting with eating with chop sticks wherever I visit a Chinese restaurant. But that is because I find it a challenging skill not because any one had made it conditional for me to enjoy Chinese dishes.
Possible sanction if China was like the US
Can you imagine if China was to punish Rwanda for banning plastic bags just because so many companies in China produce plastic bags!
China is by law monogamous and for decades it had a one child policy. Can you imagine if china was to tell African counties that our collaboration will ceaseunless you adopt a “one child policy”. Surely China will not stop collaboration with South Africa just because Jacob Zuma is a polygamist and has enough children to constitute a football team. Imagine China cutting ties with Senegal just because the newly elected 44 year old president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has two beautiful wives, and therefore, the country will have two first ladies!
Pork is a great delicacy in China just like it is in Rwanda and other great lakes region. But it is “haram” under Islamic law. So should China cease partnership with Libya or Djibouti for prohibiting import of pork products from China or anywhere else in the world?
But China knows better. It comes to you in Win-Win open arms. We respect your culture and choice; respect our as well.
China respects our religious and leadership choices
The west imposed on us Christianity, western capitalism models and leadership models made of predominantly money driven political parties that serve the elite minority. Show me one poor American mayor, Governor or President that has ever won elections on the ground of ideas. No TV adverts to manipulate the audience. No Donors. Have you ever wondered about the fact that despite US having the worst gun violencein the world and despite presidents having the power to sign executives orders no president either Democrat or Republican has ever dared to rescue the Americans from the gun monsters? “You simply don’t cut the hand that feeds you,” goes the old survival wisdom.
Politicians think about the next elections, statesmenthink about the next generation
So when the west preaches to me on so called democracy, they don’t care whether my extended family (very African) go to bed hungry, Preach to meabout human rights after developing on 500 years of African slave labor, and today they tell us that we MUST change our leaders and handover to opposition political parties many of them sponsored by the same multinationals and neo colonial powers, regardless of how much socio economic delivery.
We have seen what the communist party of China has been able to do for the Chinese people in just seven decades, yet the western model would want to convince us that China is undemocratic because the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been in power for 75 years. So what? Show me just one country on planet earth that had done what the CPC has done in such a short time following the western models. Does it shock anyone that Africa looks to China as the future economic and political model?
