China-Africa summit in Egypt hailed as success

A new chapter in relations between the People’s Republic of China and the African continent began during the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC), which was held Nov. 6-9 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced eight new measures to enhance partnerships with 53 African states in the areas of agriculture, debt relief, market access expansion, climate change, medical affairs, education, environmental protection and promotion of investment.

The summit was addressed by Premier Wen and was also attended by Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming. Wen said that Beijing is “committed to ... going all-out to assist African countries in improving their agricultural production and infrastructure.” (South African Mail & Guardian, Nov. 9)

“The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship toward the African people, and China’s support to Africa’s development is concrete and real,” said Premier Wen. “We will help Africa build financing capabilities. We will provide $10 billion for Africa in concessional loans.” (Money Morning, Nov. 10)

The Sharm el-Sheikh summit is a continuation of a 2006 meeting that was held in Beijing. Economic cooperation between the PRC and the African continent has accelerated in recent years.

In 2008, China exceeded the United States in becoming the largest trading partner with Africa. Trade between Beijing and the African continent totaled $107 billion, representing a 10-fold increase since 2000.

The Chinese oil industry has announced plans to invest $16 billion in efforts to boost its imports from Africa. The Chinese state-owned company, CNOOC Limited, is conducting negotiations with Nigeria to purchase 6 billion barrels of oil—more than 17 percent of the West African nation’s reserves.

This deal, if approved, could generate $30 billion to $50 billion in revenue for Nigeria. Other trade relations between China and Africa involve the importation of large supplies of gold, silver, copper, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore and nickel.

In his statement to the summit, Premier Wen stated: “The rapidly growing relations and cooperation between China and Africa have attracted the world’s attention in recent years. I would like to point out that it was not just a few years ago that China suddenly started its presence in Africa or Africa started its support for China.” (Xinhuanet.com, Nov. 9)

Wen discussed the shared history between the peoples of Africa and China in the struggle against foreign domination and exploitation. He stressed, “As early as in the 1950s and 60s, China and Africa fought shoulder to shoulder in the historic struggle against imperialism, colonialism and hegemony and worked side by side in the hard endeavor to revive our respective national economies.”

China provides viable alternative to relations with the West

As the FOCAC summit was taking place in Egypt, a ministerial meeting was being held among the finance ministers of the Group of 20 in Scotland. The G-20, which is dominated by the capitalists of the West and Japan, has failed to honor the promises made to the African continent over the last three years.

At the previous G-20 meeting held in Pittsburgh during late September, it was noted by various African states that the economic grouping has not honored its pledges to work seriously toward the alleviation of underdevelopment on the continent. In fact, over the last two years as a result of the global economic crisis, more than 50 million people in Africa have been thrust into poverty.

Daragh Maher, deputy head of global foreign exchange strategy at Calyon Credit Agricole, said of the Scotland meeting, “The G-20 meeting failed to deliver any real specifics as to how it intended to rebalance the global economy, suggesting the drift in the dollar is not likely to be addressed on a coordinated basis.” (Associated Press, Nov. 9)

In contrast to these developments in the capitalist states, China has been successful in implementing its economic stimulus program that has produced significant results. According to Money Morning managing editor Jason Simpkins, “While U.S. and European officials this weekend squabbled over the specifics of an economic recovery plan, China took another step to ensure long-term economic growth by inking another multibillion-dollar deal with Africa.” (Morning Money, Nov. 10)

Money Morning reported: “Indeed, China has found exceptional economic growth at a time when most of the Western world is struggling back from the brink. A continent rich in commodities, which have been skyrocketing in value, Africa is integral to China’s plans for sustained growth.” (Nov. 10)

Nonetheless, the imperialist states and their allies have attempted to distort the nature of China’s economic and political relationships with various African states. A statement issued by the right-wing Heritage Foundation claims that the PRC “aids and abets oppressive and destitute African dictatorships by legitimizing their misguided policies and praising their development models as suited to individual national conditions.”

The Pentagon has criticized the $7 billion in arms exports to the oil-rich nation of Sudan between 2003 and 2007 as evidence of China’s support of African states that have been targeted for destabilization by the United States. Zimbabwe has also benefited from political and economic support from China, and the U.S. has often cited this as an indication that Beijing’s intentions in Africa are not genuine.

Both presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan were present at the FOCAC summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. In contrast to the statements made by the Heritage Foundation, Zimbabwe hailed the ministerial meeting of FOCAC as a “very successful meeting.” (Zimbabwe Herald, Nov. 11)

After the Zimbabwe delegation returned from Sharm el-Sheikh, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who accompanied President Mugabe to Egypt, said that “it was a very successful meeting and we are pleased with the manner in which cooperation between Africa and China is developing.”

Mumbengegwi continued: “At the last summit in Beijing in 2006, China pledged to assist in a number of ways and so far 95 percent of those promises have been fulfilled. We are confident that by the end of the year all the targets will have been met.” (Herald, Nov. 11)

President Mugabe and Chinese Premier Wen held talks on Nov. 7 in Egypt where they agreed on establishing a new development package for Zimbabwe, which has been under Western-imperialist-imposed sanctions since 2000. Zimbabwe came under attack after it enacted a reform program that returned significant land holdings to the African people. This land had been seized by the British colonialists during the 1890s.

In President Mugabe’s address to the FOCAC summit on Nov. 8, he said that China’s cooperation with Africa provides the best model for relations between states in the economic, political and cultural spheres. Mugabe praised China-Africa partnerships, stating that Beijing had built a strong economy without engaging in looting and plundering of the developing world—as the West has done for centuries. (Xinhuanet, Nov. 11)