By Qin Xiaoying
Asked about my impression of Africa after my recent Africa tour,
I came up with one word: "Profound."
Africa served as the cradle of the human race in its infancy and
it so happened that I came to know the continent when I was very
young, knowing that there were black brothers and sisters who
shared much the same fate with we Chinese in old China.
I mentioned to the editor-in-chief of Egypt's Al Ahram
newspaper my memory that Egypt recovered sovereignty over the Suez
Canal in 1956 and that millions of Chinese had then taken to the
street to demonstrate against the Anglo-French attack on the port
of Alexandria. The editor-in-chief nodded his head again and again
in agreement and passionately hugged me and my colleagues one by
one.
At the Nairobi International Airport, I, in the presence of a
local porter in his forties, reminisced that the Chinese Government
sent Foreign Minister Chen Yi to Nairobi to convey China's
congratulations on the independence of Kenya in 1963 when the two
countries had not built diplomatic relations. The porter said in
excitement: "China is a great country. Mao (Zedong) and Zhou
(Enlai) were great persons!" I responded in equal excitement:
"Kenyatta was also a great man!" Again, passionate hugs.
The Portuguese built a fortress in Mombasa as early as the 16th
century. Later, it became famous as a slave-trading port. This is a
place rarely frequented by Chinese, either merchants or tourists.
So the locals first mistook us for Japanese. But, to our surprise,
all the locals around began shouting enthusiastically: "Zheng He!
Zheng He! OK! OK!" when I told them that we came from the homeland
of the famous Chinese navigator whose fleet called at various ports
on the eastern coast of the African Continent 600 years ago. That
was really a moving scene.
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway, the construction of which was aided
by China in the 1970s, is known to virtually all in East
Africa.
Indeed, China and African countries share a long history of
friendship. All this sets me thinking: What can we do in Africa and
what can we do for Africa now that China has got on the fast track
of development.
The words "in" and "for" have different connotations. The
difference lies in that the former largely refers to mutual-benefit
undertakings while the latter stresses one-way aid.
Historical research shows that Zheng He's fleet indeed arrived
in the East African coast with two purposes. One was to track down
the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Emperor Zhu Di's political foes, who
were believed to have fled to overseas. The other was to show the
awe-inspiring power of the empire. Obviously, Zheng's navigations
were not economically motivated and were, therefore, purely
missions for friendly exchanges.
In the era of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai after the founding of
New China in 1949, China's Africa policy leant heavily and
selflessly towards aid and, as a result, had little to do with
economic benefits.
Things, however, began to change in the late 1990s when the
Chinese Government initiated the outward-looking economic
development strategy. China-Africa economic and political ties thus
began to get closer. Promoted by frequent mutual visits by Chinese
and African leaders, co-operation in energy exploration,
technological exchanges and trade has made progress in large
strides. Large numbers of Chinese entrepreneurs, business people,
technicians and workers keep pouring into African countries.
Now a new height in China-African co-operation and friendship is
being reached by the forthcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum on
China-Africa Co-operation, which will involve Chinese leaders and
the heads of states of 48 African nations.
This is expected to be the largest summit ever staged in China
in 50 years and also a milestone marking that China-Africa economic
co-operation and cultural exchange will be moving forward in a big
way.
At this special moment, I would like to offer some
suggestions.
To begin with, we need to get a clear picture of public opinion
in Africa with regard to relations with China.
Different social strata have different attitudes towards China.
The grass roots are generally friendly, thanks partly to the
traditional Chinese-African friendship nurtured in the 1960s and
1970s and partly to their liking of cheap but good Chinese consumer
goods.
The upper circles, government leaders and ministers in
particular, generally regard China as a model for developing
nations. The majority of them appreciate China's role in Africa and
on the world stage, with their realities and development strategies
as the points of departure.
The groups harboring misgivings or even fears about China are
some media institutions and the middle-class public under their
influence, including senior managerial people and medium and small
business owners. They are generally educated in the West and
subscribe to the Western media assertion that China is "plundering"
Africa's resources. This deserves our attention.
Second, Chinese entrepreneurs ought to be aware of how they
relate and compare to the Africans.
The Chinese in African countries are mainly engaged in mining,
manufacturing and catering industries. They should respect and
abide by the local laws and demonstrate good professional ethics. A
handful of Chinese business owners in Africa, unfortunately, play
foul - exercising unfair competition, cheating, committing forgery,
taking little heed of workers' working conditions and delaying wage
payments. All this does nothing but smear China's image and hurt
the Africans. These crooks are not a source of revenue but the root
of trouble.
Finally, we should be clear about Africa's importance for
China's sustainable development. In strategic terms, Africa and
China could forge a consolidated and lasting partnership.
?
Education should be enhanced to root out the poisonous elements of
big-power chauvinism, racism and the "Middle Kingdom" complacency
from the minds of the Chinese public, and particularly the Chinese
officials, entrepreneurs, business people, tourists and some
scholars who interact with Africa in one way or another. This
eradication would help consolidate the friendship and opportunities
China has already won on the African Continent.
?
The author is a researcher with China Foundation for International
and Strategic Studies.
(China Daily October 31, 2006)
