Russia Hosts Forum for Africans in Sochi

 Dallas, Texas-based Atlas News published on 12 November 2024 an article titled "Russia-Africa Forum Aims To Redefine Global Power Dynamics" by Bianca Bridger.  

The first Russia-Africa Partnership Forum took place on 9-10 November in Sochi.  It attracted representatives from 54 countries including 40 at the ministerial level.  The participants produced a resolution that challenges "the international hegemonic order." Russian officials said the Forum "seeks to further entrench Russia's presence in the African continent."

Podcast on US, China, and Africa

 Lipton Matthews, a private blogger, asked me to respond to questions on 24 August 2021 dealing with US and China relations with Africa.  The hour long podcast on YouTube covers a wide range of issues dealing with development, conflict, and foreign policy.

Wrong Way to Peace in South Sudan

The Enough project published in September 2018 a commentary titled "Neo-colonialism and a Faustian Bargain Undermine South Sudan's Peace Deal" by John Prendergast and Brian Adeba.

The authors argue that the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan is based on a misguided focus on power-sharing instead of transforming the systems of governance.

China and the West in Africa

China Global Television Network America ran on 9 May 2018 a half hour program with a panel of experts titled "The Heat: China and the West in Africa."

The international panel discussed trade, investment, debt, aid, infrastructure, the Belt and Road Initiative, and whether China is or is not engaged in neo-colonialism.

China's Foreign Direct Investment in Africa

Africa Review published in 2016 an article titled "China's Foreign Direct Investment in Africa's Land: Hallmarks of Neo-colonialism or South-South Cooperation?" by Abutu Lawrence Okolo, Xiamen University, and Joseph O. Akwu, University of Nigeria-Nsukka.

The study examines to what extent Chinese involvement in Africa is any different from the hallmarks of neo-colonialism.

Contrary Views of China in Africa

Telesur published on 13 December 2015 a commentary titled "China's Path into Africa Blocked" by Patrick Bond, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.  The author takes a negative view of China's activities in Africa as contrasted with a positive view by another University of Witwatersrand professor, Garth Shelton. 

China in Africa: Not Neo-colonialist but Not Perfect Either

The University of Nottingham posted on 17 December 2015 a commentary titled "'Chinese Neo-Colonialism in Africa': A Bien-Pensant Political Ploy" by Barry Sautman, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Yan Hairong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.   

The authors argue that China is not neo-colonialist in Africa but that is not to say the global system is just, that Chinese companies, like others, do not exploit African labor and resources or that all is well with Africa-China relations.  It means there should be a focus on root causes of global social and economic inequality, including how the Chinese presence in Africa best fits. 

China-Africa Economic Diplomacy

China Dialogue published on 12 February 2015 commentary on a new book in Chinese titled China-Africa Economic Deiplomacy and Its Implications for the Global Value Chain by Tang Xiaoyang, a scholar at the Tsinghua-Carnegie Center for Global Policy.  The commentary on the book is by Liu Qin.

Tang argues that the drivers of resource extraction in Africa are modern society's technological development and consumer demands and not a neo-colonial policy by China.  He goes on to warn that the next concern may be the move from China to Africa of energy hungry and polluting manufacturers.  This would effectively transfer pollution (and jobs) from China to Africa. 

China's Challenge in Africa: Avoid Blame of Neo-Colonialism

Yale Global Online Magazine published on 9 July 2014 commentary titled "China's Challenge in Africa: Avoid Blame of Neo-Colonialism" by Gregory Chin, associate professor of political science at York University in Canada.  The author focuses on what China needs to do to improve south-south cooperation.

China Radio International on China-Africa Relations

China Radio International (CRI) invited me to join two other panelists on 9 May 2014 for an hour long, wide ranging discussion of  China-Africa relations linked to the visit to Africa by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.  The other panelists were Victor Gao, former English-language interpreter for Chinese leaders and now a current affairs commentator, and Norbert Haguma, a Rwandan who is the CEO of Beijing-based Kiziga, which arranges for Africans to study in China. 

China's Special Representative on African Affairs Answers Critics

In an interview on 6 August 2013 with Edward Paice, director of the Africa Research Institute, Ambassador Zhong Jianhua, China's special representative on African affairs, responds frankly to common criticisms of China's policy and conduct in Africa.  In particular, he answers the criticism by Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, that China is exploiting Africa in much the same way as the former colonial powers. 

Ambassador Zhong makes especially interesting comments on the inadequacy of Chinese official data, noting that President Xi Jinping used during his March 2013 visit to Durban a figure of $50 billion of Chinese investment in Africa, much higher than the previous official figure of about $15 billion.  He quickly adds that $50 billion is just an estimate.  I am convinced that China does not know the total amount of its FDI in Africa. 

Edward Paice and his colleague at the Africa Research Institute, Jonathan Bhalla, published something of a rejoinder on 16 August 2013 titled "China's New Competitor: Africa." They concluded that engagement between China and Africa over the next decade will be much more complex, even messier, than in the past. This will be confusing for the dragon-slayers and panda-huggers. "China: friend or foe" will be an inadequate frame of reference.

China-Africa Relations

Historian Ousman Murzik Kobo, writing in the May 2013 issue of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective discusses the China-Africa relationship in a piece titled "A New World Order? Africa and China."

Africa, China and the United States

I participated in an hour long radio program on 21 April 2013 dealing with Africa, China and the United States titled "China-Africa: Is the Honeymoon Over?" Veteran journalist Eric Olander moderated the program and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Johannesburg, Cobus van Staden, offered comments.

Much of the session focused on how Africans see China and the United States and the challenges faced by China following recent criticism of its approach to Africa by several important African officials.

China, Africa and Social Media

Veteran journalist Eric Olander moderated a one hour twelve minute radio program on 14 April 2013 titled "China-Africa Relations in the Age of Social Media."  The participants were Cobus van Staden, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, Yu-Shan Wu, researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, and Jinghao Lu, analyst on the China-Africa desk of Frontier Advisory.

While the focus of the discussion was on the impact of social media on China-Africa relations, the wide ranging discussion covered a variety of other issues including Chinese investment in Africa, Zambia as a food source for China, the importance to Chinese of business trust, Chinese tourism in Africa, role of the press, African attitudes towards Chinese, racism and neo-colonialism.

Interview on China-Africa Relations

The U.S. edition of Voice of Russia asked me to address the question of China-Africa relations in an interview that aired on 18 October 2012. Click here to listen to the eleven minute interview.

China Balances Sudan and South Sudan

Al-Jazeera English language TV asked me to comment 7 April 2012 on China's ability to help resolve the numerous problems between Sudan and South Sudan. I replied that China is in a delicate position. It has historically close ties with Khartoum, built the oil infrastructure in the North and supplied Khartoum with large numbers of weapons used against South Sudan during the civil war. China realized, however, that South Sudan would likely opt for independence and began soon after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 to improve relations with Juba. By offering funding to develop the South and holding out the prospect of large quantities of investment, it has managed to establish reasonably good relations with Juba.

When asked if China is following a neo-colonialist policy in Sudan and South Sudan, I replied that it is not. Its policy can be described as mercantilist just as the policy of most Western countries can be so described. Both China and the West are relying on Africa primarily as a source of raw materials, especially oil and minerals.

While China still has substantial leverage in Khartoum and more than most observers realize in Juba, its policy is constrained by an ideological reluctance to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations. This may restrain China from putting pressure on Khartoum to compromise with Juba. In South Sudan, it also faces lingering suspicion for its strong military support of Khartoum. At the same time, much of the ammunition and small arms in South Sudan today are of Chinese origin although they may have come from third parties.