The growing influence of China and India in
Africa is being watched with skepticism. Many
see the rising Asian economic powers as new
colonial masters exploiting resource-rich Africa
solely for their own benefit. In August 2012, US Secretary-of-State Hillary
Clinton brought the scorn of China and India
upon her head. During a speech in Senegal, as
part of her extensive trip through Africa, she
derisively announced that, "The USA stands for
democracy and human rights, even when it's easier or more profitable to look away in order to
secure resources." For a while now, China and India have been at the
center of growing criticism for going on reckless
shopping sprees in Africa in order to feed their
growing economies back home. That includes,
according to accusations, not shirking away from
doing business with countries that have been shunned internationally, like Sudan and
Zimbabwe. The citizens of Africa were supposed
to have received little benefit these investments.
With their resources now robbed, critics say it will
be hardly possible for African countries to do
business on equal terms. Haiyan Wang is the founder of the China-India
Institute, a think tank in Washington. She is also
co-author of the book, Getting India and China
Right. In an interview with Deutsche Welle she
said that the accusations are little more than
clichés. "When you look at China and India's activities in
Africa today, you can see huge differences from
the old days when colonial officers went to Africa
to secure resources with impunity." Beyond oil
and gas pipelines, China invests in infrastructure
projects like streets, bridges and harbors, as well as in the construction of hospitals and power
plants. India's contribution is even more far
reaching, says Haiyan Wang. "India brings its
entrepreneurship and its best ideas in order to
generate jobs." India and China's popularity Africa's wealth of resources has always stirred
commercial interest. Besides oil and gas, there are
huge deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron,
uranium and diamonds. In June 2012, US President Barack Obama laid out
his new Africa strategy, which emphasized,
above all else, his core issues of democracy and
economic advancement, development and
security. Vaidhyanatha Gundlupet-Venkataramu, Professor
of International Relations at the University of
Texas in San Antonio, sees this as an almost
despairing attempt at not losing some form of
contact with Africa. He indicates that China, with
166 billion dollars (129 billion euros) in trade volume with Africa in 2011, has already
overtaken the US as Africa's largest trading
partner. "The US, with its own multinationals, like
Exxon, already developed their own version of
getting at those resources, also through
partnerships with questionable regimes. That naturally influenced public opinion in Africa," the
professor said. The image of India and China is more positive in
Africa. From the outset, they made their economic
goals clear, said Gundlupet-Venkataramu. "That
was seen as more honest. India is more popular
than China in Africa." At present, trade levels
between India and Africa have reached 60 billion dollars. The goal of Indian Trade Minister Anand
Sharma is to reach 90 billion dollars by 2015.
When talking solely about investments in Africa,
the Chinese are a step ahead of the Indians. Rivals or partners? In many African countries - from Ethiopia to
Uganda, Nigeria to South Africa - it is not unusual
to run into Chinese workers building a new street
or train line. The well-planned Chinese strategy is
aimed at maintaining close contacts with
governments, and it typically operates with billions of dollars in loans. By comparison, India sends out a much less
organized mix of businesses, such as Tata, Godrej,
mobile phone and energy suppliers, according to
experts. In addition, India does not tire of
proclaiming its historical ties to Africa. India's
national hero and father of independence, Mahatma Gandhi, even lived for a few years in
South Africa at the end of the 19th century. Like many African countries - especially in eastern
Africa - India suffered under British colonialism.
India makes up one of the largest contingents of
the UN peace missions in Africa and is also
hoping for Africa's support in its efforts to gain a
permanent seat on the Security Council. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has
visited Africa four times in the last eight years,
and in many African countries Indians form the
largest ethnic minority. "India and China are not rivals in Africa," Sujit
Dutta, professor of political science at the Jamia
Milia Islamia University of New Delhi, told
Deutsche Welle. "They are active in different
areas, have different strengths and in that sense
complement each other. Rivalries will always crop up, since India and China are both aspiring
powers and economies." But in the future, China and India will not be
alone. Brazil, Russia and Turkey are the newest
entrants in the competition for influence in Africa.
China und India - Rivals in Africa | Asia | DW.DE | 09.10.2012
Africa is being watched with skepticism. Many
see the rising Asian economic powers as new
colonial masters exploiting resource-rich Africa
solely for their own benefit. In August 2012, US Secretary-of-State Hillary
Clinton brought the scorn of China and India
upon her head. During a speech in Senegal, as
part of her extensive trip through Africa, she
derisively announced that, "The USA stands for
democracy and human rights, even when it's easier or more profitable to look away in order to
secure resources." For a while now, China and India have been at the
center of growing criticism for going on reckless
shopping sprees in Africa in order to feed their
growing economies back home. That includes,
according to accusations, not shirking away from
doing business with countries that have been shunned internationally, like Sudan and
Zimbabwe. The citizens of Africa were supposed
to have received little benefit these investments.
With their resources now robbed, critics say it will
be hardly possible for African countries to do
business on equal terms. Haiyan Wang is the founder of the China-India
Institute, a think tank in Washington. She is also
co-author of the book, Getting India and China
Right. In an interview with Deutsche Welle she
said that the accusations are little more than
clichés. "When you look at China and India's activities in
Africa today, you can see huge differences from
the old days when colonial officers went to Africa
to secure resources with impunity." Beyond oil
and gas pipelines, China invests in infrastructure
projects like streets, bridges and harbors, as well as in the construction of hospitals and power
plants. India's contribution is even more far
reaching, says Haiyan Wang. "India brings its
entrepreneurship and its best ideas in order to
generate jobs." India and China's popularity Africa's wealth of resources has always stirred
commercial interest. Besides oil and gas, there are
huge deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron,
uranium and diamonds. In June 2012, US President Barack Obama laid out
his new Africa strategy, which emphasized,
above all else, his core issues of democracy and
economic advancement, development and
security. Vaidhyanatha Gundlupet-Venkataramu, Professor
of International Relations at the University of
Texas in San Antonio, sees this as an almost
despairing attempt at not losing some form of
contact with Africa. He indicates that China, with
166 billion dollars (129 billion euros) in trade volume with Africa in 2011, has already
overtaken the US as Africa's largest trading
partner. "The US, with its own multinationals, like
Exxon, already developed their own version of
getting at those resources, also through
partnerships with questionable regimes. That naturally influenced public opinion in Africa," the
professor said. The image of India and China is more positive in
Africa. From the outset, they made their economic
goals clear, said Gundlupet-Venkataramu. "That
was seen as more honest. India is more popular
than China in Africa." At present, trade levels
between India and Africa have reached 60 billion dollars. The goal of Indian Trade Minister Anand
Sharma is to reach 90 billion dollars by 2015.
When talking solely about investments in Africa,
the Chinese are a step ahead of the Indians. Rivals or partners? In many African countries - from Ethiopia to
Uganda, Nigeria to South Africa - it is not unusual
to run into Chinese workers building a new street
or train line. The well-planned Chinese strategy is
aimed at maintaining close contacts with
governments, and it typically operates with billions of dollars in loans. By comparison, India sends out a much less
organized mix of businesses, such as Tata, Godrej,
mobile phone and energy suppliers, according to
experts. In addition, India does not tire of
proclaiming its historical ties to Africa. India's
national hero and father of independence, Mahatma Gandhi, even lived for a few years in
South Africa at the end of the 19th century. Like many African countries - especially in eastern
Africa - India suffered under British colonialism.
India makes up one of the largest contingents of
the UN peace missions in Africa and is also
hoping for Africa's support in its efforts to gain a
permanent seat on the Security Council. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has
visited Africa four times in the last eight years,
and in many African countries Indians form the
largest ethnic minority. "India and China are not rivals in Africa," Sujit
Dutta, professor of political science at the Jamia
Milia Islamia University of New Delhi, told
Deutsche Welle. "They are active in different
areas, have different strengths and in that sense
complement each other. Rivalries will always crop up, since India and China are both aspiring
powers and economies." But in the future, China and India will not be
alone. Brazil, Russia and Turkey are the newest
entrants in the competition for influence in Africa.
China und India - Rivals in Africa | Asia | DW.DE | 09.10.2012
