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China and African economies

China's expanding role in African economies, highlighted during President Hu Jintao's eight-country tour, has alarmed some western ideological adversaries into making the allegation that a new colonial enterprise is under way. In presenting this over-the-top argument, these elements draw a superficial analogy between present day patterns of trade and colonial and imperialist exploitation practised until the later decades of the 20th century. The closure of several factories, especially textile mills, in African countries may be attributable to a trading pattern in which China mainly imports raw material and exports low-cost manufactured goods. However, there is a crucial difference between the practices followed by the People's Republic today and western colonisers (and Japan) in a bygone era. China has not imposed terms of trade on weaker countries by militarily occupying them and destroying indigenous economies. The critics try to negate the significance of this difference by contending that Beijing's support for despotic regimes enables it to impose its will on the people. But then western governments also do business with these regimes; and the disastrous consequences of attempting regime change in some countries under the signboard of democratisation are visible to all. The People's Republic can, like India, eloquently recall its own history of anti-colonial struggle and its support for liberation struggles in the less-developed world - and can, in fact, go well beyond that argument.

Far from practising exploitation, China has set up manufacturing plants, rail networks, and training schemes. Some of these efforts have been heavily subsidised. More significantly, Beijing has not closed its doors to African produce in the way some western countries have. During his recent visit President Hu signed agreements that would open China's markets to South Africa's agricultural products. Investments too have not moved solely in one direction. Companies that have honed their survival skills in complex developing country markets have advantages over competitors from more advanced parts of the world as they seek a niche in China's booming economy. These companies have learnt to improvise when components were not available in their home countries. They have also fine-tuned retailing skills by working in markets where customers have low purchasing power. The People's Republic appears to be creating new models for partnerships with countries that are a few rungs below it on the ladder of progress. In this era where the world is talking about the parallel rise of China and India, the African continent beckons India as well.

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