Trade between China and Africa: Who is the beneficiary?

Understanding trade between China and Africa is not easy. China organised a conference in the Chinese capital for all African states late last year. The aim of the conference was trade between China and the African continent.

Number one: It sounds good to hear of trading partners. China is to fund projects, give aid and also participate in the process!

Number two: It is the participation on the ground in Africa by the Chinese that is questionable.

Questionable because the deal opens for direct trade, but also participation by the Chinese on the ground – in African countries.

One may question the questionable raised, but it has to be understood that direct participation by Chinese merchants will make poor African traders to loose their businesses, because of the Chinese merchant’s throw-away prices.

The Chinese stand strong in this, because they manufacture, export to Africa, follow their goods, market and practically sell them direct to the customers and not through African businessmen and women. Before Africa realises what is taking place, most of the citizens will be unemployed and as we all know, high unemployment is one of the contributing factors to crimes.

We take one example, Kenya an independent developing country.

There is high unemployment in the country and this is one of the African countries that has entered into trade agreement with the Chinese.

African leaders lined up in China!

The lining up ceremony: The African leaders line up for handshake with Chinese premier: Nr.49>….Nigeria> Kenya> Uganda> Tanzania> Ethiopia> Zimbabwe> …….> 

President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya waits for his turn in the line up to get a handshake from the Chinese premier. He was one of the African leaders, who attended last year’s conference in China, where the host – the Chinese premier, treated the African heads of state as college students, when he made them  to be lined up to greet him, as though they were students lining up in school to get to the dining hall – one by one during lunch hour rush to get the food.

Chinese Premier (right photo>) speaks to all African heads in China last year after summoning them all to a trade partnership conference. Mugabe (left photo>) was reported to have been very impartient during the meeting!

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<President Mugabe wants attention from the premier, because he simply wants the funding processed immediately!

It was a show of power by the Chinese premier.  How he treated the leaders was distasteful. It smells of a saying;- “Come to me, you line up, you put forward your grievances as “Mugabe is doing here”, I will listen, and make consideration on how to proceed, whereas your duty is to accept and open trading windows for my people!”

Otherwise, how can one understand and interpret, the way African heads of state were made to line up in a queue to shake hands with their host!It is like African leaders can easily be made to jump, or go down on their knees, as long as they know they will get money to take home to their countries. And yet this is not free money.

If China is seriously thinking of having Africa as trading partners, there should be mutual respect between the parties.

And the only reasonable way to put into practice mutual understanding and respect is through equal partnership.

China can export goods to African countries, and let the locals there do the practicals, instead of the  Chinese doing everything by way of Producing, exporting, and moving their people to the ground in Africa to do the selling.

What happens to the African man and woman? Are they in a position to compete? The answer is no, they are not able to compete.

So what aim do the Chinese have? Of course, they are thinking of themselves, while African heads of state seems not to have the insight on what is behind the game the Chinese has set to roll.

Zimbabwe’s president, Mr Mugabe (right photo>) is one of those African heads of state who wrecks his own country’s economy through his preferred high cost lifestyle, only to rush to China and cash-in on a handshake with Chinese premier! But does he know who benefits or he simply wants to get the money to maintain himself in power?

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Mr. Ogola asks African leaders to wake up!

In Kenya and Uganda, for instance the local traders are loosing their businesses because foreign trading partners have their hands on almost everything bearing the name – trade and benefits!

According to Kenyan Mr. Kennedy Ogola, a businessman based in Norway, Kenya is making a big mistake by allowing foreign traders to take over direct sales to the customers in the name of partnership. “My understanding, says Kennedy Ogola, is that the trade ties creates unemployment in the country and the result here is that the Chinese are the beneficiaries, while the local Kenyan man and woman, who depends on small scale trading will be put out of business. The simple fact that our leaders should bear in mind when entering into trade relationship, is to ensure that the local businessmen and women benefit through the program.”

Mr. Ogola is one of the people who reacted angrily when he saw all African leaders lined up by the Chinese premier, like school boys meeting the headmaster.

He reiterates that, “African leaders must wake up, and refuse to be pushed around in the name of “aid” packages, which in actual sense do more harm to African countries, while the so-called “foreign trading partner” is the sole beneficiary.”

By Korir, African Press in Norway, APN, africanpress@chello.no