China's Expanding Role in Africa

[Jedburgh]

The Economist, 17 Jan 15: China in Africa: One among many

China has few political ambitions in Africa. It co-operates with democracies as much as with authoritarian regimes. Its aid budget is puny. The few peacekeepers it sends stay out of harm’s way. China’s corporatist development model has attracted few followers beyond Ethiopia and Rwanda. Most fast-growing African nations hew closer to Western free-market ideas. In South Sudan, the one place where China has tried to flex its diplomatic muscle, it has achieved embarrassingly little. Attempts to stop a civil war that is endangering its oil supply failed miserably.

Chinese immigrants in Africa chuckle at the idea that they could lord it over the locals. Most congregate in second-tier countries like Zambia; they are less of a presence in hyper-competitive Nigeria. Unlike other expatriates, they often live in segregated camps. Some thought, after a decade of high-octane engagement, that China would dominate Africa. Instead it is likely to be just one more foreign investor jostling for advantage.

[AdamG]

China illegally fishing off coast of west Africa, Greenpeace study reveals

Number of Chinese fishing boats operating in Africa soared from 13 in 1985 to 462 in 2013, say environmental group, with ships ‘taking advantage of weak enforcement and supervision’

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...-study-reveals

[davidbfpo]

An IISS Adelphi paper 'China’s Strong Arm: Protecting Citizens and Assets Abroad' landed today and so joins a growing pile of items to read.

On the link are a few reviews, taken from that by The Economist's former editor:

It presents a convincing thesis: that force of circumstance will oblige China to become a global power, regardless of its stated non-interventionist policy.

Link:http://www.iiss.org/en/publications/...rong-arm-63b7?

[Firn]

I was surprised by the sheer amount of 'Chinese' roudbuilding in Burundi* and Ruanda when I was there. The relationships in question are certainly not free from tenstions but I was told in Uganda that the Chinese ones are much better then the Italian ones, at least in part due the Italian's local subcontractors.

*Quite a few in Burundi told me about tensions building up due to elections and third term problem. I didn't imagine that we would have fighting and a failed coup...

[AdamG]

(EBC, Mar. 4, 2016)- President Ismal Omar Guelleh has presided over the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new mega gas project, which comprises a natural gas pipeline, a liquefaction plant and an export terminal at Damerjog, Djibouti.

The pipeline project will enable Ethiopia to export gas to China and support socio-economic development across the region.

The new 700 km pipeline will transport up to 12 billion m3/y of natural gas from Ethiopia to Djibouti. The liquefaction plant will have capacity to produce up to 10 million t of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year after completion of the project.

The project, which will be funded by Chinese firm POLY-GCL Petroleum Group Holdings Ltd, will cost approximately US$4 billion. Construction work is expected to start shortly and will take three years to complete.

http://www.ebc.et/web/ennews/-/djibo...t-gas-to-china

[AdamG]

The year 2015 was quite eventful for China-Africa diplomacy. Several high-level officials from both sides visited in each direction; the African Union (AU) and China signed a memorandum of understanding; China concluded an agreement to build a base in Djibouti; and China signed a host of bilateral agreements with African countries.

The capstone of the year’s diplomatic efforts was Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), hosted in Johannesburg on Dec. 4-5 and gathering delegations from 50 African countries, the African Union, and of course China.

What did we learn about China-Africa relations from this meeting?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...at-that-means/

Hangzhou — The fifth China-Africa Think Tanks Forum opened on Friday in Yiwu City of east China's Zhejiang Province, focusing on China-Africa industrial cooperation.

The two-day event, organized by Zhejiang Normal University and Yiwu city government, has attracted more than 350 government officials, academics and business people from China and over 40 African countries.

Trade with China accounts for 20 percent of the total trade volume in Ethiopia, said Arkebe Oqubay Metiku, economic adviser to Ethiopia's prime minister. "Thanks to China's investment, Ethiopia now has the first electrified railway system in Africa."

In late 2015, China promised 60 billion U.S. dollars in funding to promote China-Africa cooperation and boost the development of African countries.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201604181240.html

[AdamG]

China’s first overseas military base in the small African country of Djibouti is “probably the first of many” the country intends to build around the world, which could bring its interests into conflict with the U.S., according to American intelligence officials. “China has the fastest-modernizing military in the world next to the United States,” according to insights provided Thursday by U.S. intelligence officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the information.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...bases-globally