Jacob Zuma’s state visit last week gave South Africans an opportunity to compare China’s emerging economy to their own. The comparison was not favourable. South Africa’s economy has only just emerged from recession and almost a quarter of the working-age population are unemployed. The country’s public servants have been on strike for the last two weeks, abandoning schools and hospitals to demand an 8.6% pay increase. The dispute threatens to tear apart the ruling African National Congress’s alliance with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions. It also calls Jacob Zuma’s ability to lead a unity government into question. Zuma, meanwhile, is tired of the media’s constant questions, particularly their allegations of widespread corruption. His party has drafted the Protection of Information Bill, a vaguely worded document which, if passed, would allow government to define any information deemed “harmful” to the “national interest” as classified, and proposed a Media Appeals Tribunal with the power to imprison journalists for breaching the new laws. The bill makes no provision for “public interest” and a number of civil society groups have questioned its constitutionality. A government dominated by a single party placing a vaguely defined national interest above public interest will, of course, sound familiar to many China watchers, and this is possibly no coincidence. The ANC has made its admiration of the Chinese Communist Party plain and the two parties have together set up a jointly-funded program to bring all 88 members of the ANC’s National Executive Committee to China on two-week long “study tours”.
The mood in South Africa was reflected by the country’s most incisive political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, better known by his pen name, Zapiro. Shapiro is currently being sued by Jacob Zuma for defamation, after he penned a cartoon depicting the president – then only the leader of the ANC – raping Lady Justice in 2008. You can find more of his cartoons at the Mail & Guardian and Sunday Times as well as a short biography at South African Cartoonists and Illustrators. Zapiro’s own website is at http://www.zapiro.com.
Africa is now the latest front in an increasingly global competition between India and China for new markets, arable land and access to natural resources. While Western media and politicians have reacted with varying degrees of alarm to the surge of Chinese trade and investment in Africa, Indian companies have been quietly building their presence on the continent.
As China drives deeper into what many Indians consider their sphere of influence in South Asia, Africa offers an ideal opportunity for Indian firms to challenge China’s growing influence in the region. For many Indians, particularly in certain political circles and in the blogosphere, competition with China is often presented in a classical real politik paradigm. The headlines misleadingly frame the issue in terms of win/lose or even as a “race” between the two countries. Although it may be compelling, even somewhat entertaining, to draw on 19th century colonial clichés (e.g. the Scramble for Africa or the Great Game) it is entirely misleading as both Indian and Chinese strategies are radically different to strategies employed by earlier European powers.
Ironically, the enhanced competition among Chinese and Indian companies will most directly affect European and American firms, which are rapidly being shut out of Africa’s emerging markets. “We just can’t compete when both Chinese and Indian [construction] companies are undercutting us by 50 to 60 percent,” complained a senior executive of General Electric’s infrastructure systems group. He requested anonymity because of ongoing negotiations with North African and Middle Eastern governments, where he is competing directly with Chinese contractors. “Our cost structure and profit requirements are simply too high compared to the Chinese and Indians,” he added. General Electric is not alone. Continue reading »
South African president Jacob Zuma arrived in Beijing on a state visit yesterday, with a large trade delegation in tow. China is Zuma’s last stop on his tour of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, where he is trying to drum up investment to create job growth at home. He is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice President and prime ministerial heir apparent Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders, before flying to Shanghai on Thursday to visit the World Expo.
Among the delegation accompanying Zuma is the CEO of South African petrochemicals company SASOL, Pat Davies. Davies is in China to hear the results of a review assessing SASOL’s $10 billion bid to construct a coal to liquid project in partnership with local company Shenhua Ningxia. The deal is said to be the largest single-project joint venture in Chinese history. SASOL’s technology, developed when sanctions forced South Africa to search for alternatives to oil, has an obvious appeal in China, where coal is plentiful but oil scarce.
South Africa and China have a complicated relationship atypical of Chinese relations with the rest of the continent. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner and last year overtook the United States to become the country’s largest export destination. Although much of South Africa’s exports are unprocessed minerals and other raw materials, the two countries are also competitors and partners in the rest of Africa. Chinese bank ICBC owns a 20% stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank, which operates in 18 African countries. South African mobile network operator MTN is Africa’s largest mobile operator, while Chinese company Huawei sells the continent’s most popular handsets. Continue reading »
African Boots of Beijing was a 2006 film about Afrika United FC — Beijing’s football club for resident Africans — and the inspiration of this website.
Afrika United FC news, photos and event information will continue to feature on African Boots under the Afrika United FC tab.
Watch African Boots of Beijing:
African Boots of Beijing from Danwei on Vimeo.
A quick note about a useful website if you follow African news:
The excellent African news aggregator AllAfrica.com does not have a China section, but you can find articles that mention China by doing a Google search of the site, or using the site’s own search tool.
Here’s a good blog about the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, the massive country at the heart of Africa that has been in the news for huge and sometimes controversial resource and infrastructure deals with China:
Congo Siasa
Here are search results for posts on Congo Siasa that mention China, below is the blogger’s self description:
I have been working on the conflict in the DR Congo for the past eight years, most recently as the Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Congo (2008). I have also worked for Heritiers de la Justice, a local human rights NGO (2001), the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC (2002-2004) and the International Crisis Group (2005-2007). A book I wrote on the conflict, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, is due to be published soon. I am currently obtaining my PhD at Yale University.
A team of Kenyan and Chinese archaeologists, carrying out a two-month excavation in and around the coastal Kenyan town of Malindi, have unearthed new evidence of 16th century maritime trade links between China and East Africa. The dig is being carried out at three locations – including the Khatib mosque, where the Islamic Chinese admiral Zheng He is thought to have prayed – and archaeologists hope to find evidence of even older trade links. According to Kenyan newspaper The Standard, the archaeologists are “digging deeper in the hope of retrieving items dating back to 9th and 10th centuries.”
Malindi is one of Kenya’s most popular coastal resorts. It is also known for the nearby ruins of Gedi, a Swahili town that once traded with Venice, Spain and India, as well as China. Once excavations at Malindi are complete, the team will be joined by another ten Chinese archaeologists from Peking University’s School of Archeology and Museology and will begin the underwater excavation of a 600 year old junk, wrecked near the island town of Lamu, also in Kenya. In preparation for this, two officials from the National Museums of Kenya have been trained in underwater archaeology. The Chinese government is reportedly spending 200 million Kenyan shillings (US$2.45 million) on the project.
Jacob Zuma by Xu Weixin
Xu Weixin is a professor at the Art School of Renmin University of China in Beijing. This is translated from his blog:
Painting South African President Zuma’s portrait
On May 15, when South African president Jacob Zuma visited China and spoke to the National People’s Congress, the school asked me to paint a portrait of him to be used as a gift. I accepted with pleasure.
After South Africa successfully held the World Cup and I saw his beaming face, a model for Africa’s developing countries, I felt good about him and his country.
After thinking carefully, I chose a canvas 120 x100 cm (easy to transport, big enough for a strong visual affect). The materials are oil paint on cloth canvas.
Zuma and a large delegation of South African officials and business people will be visiting Beijing and Shanghai next week, when one assumes the painting will be handed over.
Thanks to Bill Bishop for the link.
African Boots does not yet have a blog roll or links section: it’s coming soon.
In the meantime, here are some links to recent articles, podcasts and blogs about the China – Africa relationship:
Sinica podcast on China – Africa relations
A discussion of the good and the bad of China’s growing relationship with African countries hosted by Kaiser Kuo with Gady Epstein, Shannon Van Sant and yours truly.
Deborah Brautigam’s China in Africa: the Real Story blog
Links and commentary from the author of The Dragon’s Gift.
China Talking Points
Blog and podcast series with plenty of China – Africa content.
Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, land of a billion customers
Article by Tessa Thorniley on Danwei.
The China Daily reports:
New think-tank to focus on Africa
The Ministry of Commerce on Monday launched the China-Africa Research Center, a think-tank focused on the economies of the two regions, to further bolster trade relations with Africa.
The think-tank has been set up under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a subsidiary of the ministry.
The new unit will utilize ministry resources and discuss and deliberate on key economic issues about African nations. It will also provide the government with theoretical clues on future policies for Sino-Africa economic and trade ties and help Chinese companies planning ventures in Africa with consultancy services,” said Fu Ziying, vice-minister of commerce…
… “China should have set up mature systems for researching African issues much earlier. But fortunately, it has now taken the right step,” said Chen Gong, senior partner of Anbound Group, a leading consultancy institute.
Will the think tank also look at ways of helping Chinese companies and governments to contribute meaningfully to African economies? Maybe, maybe not.
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