Mo Liugui  Student ID:So7575
Research Paper Supervisor: Dr. Sekou Conde
Minzhu University of China
2007-2008 Academic year
 
 
 
 
Abstract:
In recent years, China has become a major power on the African continent as a donor of development aid. With the development of China’s aid to Africa, many various perspectives come into being from EU. Does China’s aid to Africa bring harm or does it bring benefit to the development of Africa and EU’s interests? So this paper is intended to show that various perspectives from EU about China’s aid to Africa, such as “China threat”, "neo-colonialism" and so on, and analyze them. We also analyzed the real circumstances of China’s aid to Africa and the problems in the process of China’s aid to Africa. In this paper we analyzed it from a comparative perspective and got the conclusion: there are some problems in the process of aid, but the nature of China's aid is to help Africa to achieve development, and accord with the interests of EU and Africa.
 
 
Key words:   EU reaction   China’s aid   Africa   development   interests
 
 
 
 
1: introduction
The development of China’s aid to Africa has raised contentious debates among the traditional powers in Africa as well as academics and observers. And from EU reaction about China’s aid to Africa, there are many various perspectives, such as “China threat”, "neo-colonialism" or "economic imperialism" and so on, and many analysts have come to question China’s intentions in the region and its overall long-term strategic goals. So in this paper we are intended to show that various perspectives including positive and negative views about China’s aid to Africa and analyze them, and then analyze the real circumstances of China’s aid to Africa and the problems in the process of China’s aid to Africa, finally get a conclusion. In contrast to most analysts’ claim that China’s policy was changed in recent years owing to its thirsty for oil and other natural resources in Africa, or the efforts African countries make in the process of the implementation of "democracy and good governance" are damaged for the development of China’s aid to Africa, the author argues that although there are some problems in the process of aid, the nature of China's aid is to help Africa to achieve development, and accord with the interests of EU and Africa.
 
2: history of China’s aid to Africa
China’s aid to Africa has a long history, the development of relations between China and Africa is also deepened step by step. And the history of China’s aid to Africa could be divided into three stages.
 
2.1 The first phase (From 1956 China and Egypt established diplomatic relations to the late 1970s)
 
During this period, for the time, the international environment and China's economic strength of the restrictions, China's aid to Africa mainly consisted of the construction of symbol of China-Africa friendly relations. China supported the political struggles for African independence as well as provided some free aid to Africa[1]. It was a time when China also helped African countries build a number of landmark structures (e.g. stadiums, hospitals, conference centers) – projects that were more than just bricks and mortar constructions – that were national symbols of independence and embodied the spirit of cultural decolonization[2]. These China-supported projects played an important role in the formation of African nationhood[3]. Regardless of very high economic costs, these projects provided important assistance to African countries in need of moral support, and also resulted in positive impressions of China in the minds of the African people, laying a solid foundation for the path ahead in Sino-African relations[4].
In the period of 1956-1977, China provided $2.476 billion to 36 African countries as economic aid, about 58% of China’s total foreign aid ($4.276 billion)[5]. The period from 1971 to 1978 is called the “rapid growth phase”, and China’s aid to Africa is greatly increased (see table 1). With a new political direction and the uncertainty of economic development in China, the period from 1979 to1982 saw a temporary fluctuation in China’s aid to Africa (see table 1): economic aid was reduced, accompanied by a decline in bilateral trade and a drop in the number of mission medical teams[6].
 
Table 1   China’s Aid Commitments to Developing Countries   (In millions of U.S. dollars)
 

time
 
country

Annual Average

1953-60

1961-69

1970-75

1976-80

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

Africa  

4

46

319

94

20

14

107

259

133

Asia  

160

172

310

160

 

41

1

30

37

Europe

 

 

8

6

 

 

 

 

 

Latin America

8

4

24

3

 

 

3

 

17

Oceania

 

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

Total

172

222

661

263

26

55

111

289

187

Source: Samuel Kim, The Third World in Chinese World Policy (Occasional Paper No.19), Center of International Studies, Princeton University, 1989, p.38.
 
2.2 The second phase (from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s)
 
In the period from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s，China’s aid to African had greatly changed. In the early 1980s, China issued four principles regarding China-African economic-technological cooperation, that is to say: “equality and mutual benefit, pursuing practical results, adopting various ways and seeking common development.” and four principles became the guiding principle for aid to Africa. During the period, China has gradually established the assistance of ideas of equality and mutual benefit to Africa, and the style of aid has begun to diversify.
In the 1980s, China adjusted its economic assistance to Africa through attempting to help Africa help itself. Improving Africa’s ability to self-develop was seen to be more helpful than free economic aid. Economic assistance began to include other forms of support such as preferential and discounted loans, cooperatives and joint ventures for projects in Africa[7].
During the late1980s and early 1990s, China was undergoing a reform about foreign trade and aid. The new reform that took a more realistic trend gave birth to many joint ventures of China and the African countries. By 1989, there were 33 productive joint ventures set in African countries under this aid policy[8].
   In 1995, the China’s Vice-primer, Zhu Rongji visited Africa, and during his visit, he put forward three propositions, namely, a way to enlarge the mutual support, create a peaceful and stable international climate; strengthen friendship and consultation, promote the improvement of the international trade environment; promote mutual benefit cooperation, seek for common prosperous development[9].
 
2.3 The third phase (from the mid-1990s to now)
 
The third phase also is rapid increase phase. From the mid-1990s, as China's domestic economic reform was comprehensively promoted, China’s aid to Africa also happened to change, and the changes embodied a concentrated expression in encouraging more China Enterprises to involve in the construction, management and operation of foreign aid projects.
In October 2000, China-Africa cooperation forum was held in Beijing. In the follow-up actions, China carried out what it had promised to exempt the debt, help the development of African human resources, and promote Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa[10].
At this point, overall policy framework about China’s aid to Africa was very clear; China’s aid to Africa was to be more targeted, and started to pay attention to the broader issue of assistance, such as humanitarian assistance, environmental protection, AIDS prevention and treatment, and so on.
Overall, with the practical needs of African countries and the background of the times, China's aid to Africa made a timely rectification according to the needs. At the same time, China has always adhered to the concept of assistance of equality and common development, and the concept of assistance reflected continuity and stability in the policy of China’s aid to Africa.
 
3: some views about China’s aid to Africa from EU
 
3.1: “China threat”
 
With China’s rapid economic development and the steady China’s aid to Africa, there have been cries of “China threat”. In fact, by massively investing not only in African oil but also in African public works, telecoms, agriculture, and other sectors, China is trying to buy the hearts and minds of African leaders as part of a broader push to win allies in the developing world and boost its soft power abroad[11]. In 2003, Domingos Jardo Muekalia who is the deputy secretary for External Relations at the University of the Transkei (UNITA), in his article named “Africa and China’s Strategic Partnership” thought that China tries to link Africa as the strategic partnership of aspects of energy, trade and politics[12].
PRC trade with Africa was also a tiny part of her 2005 $1.4 trillion world trade, but it is fast growing… China is now the third largest trader with Africa, after the US and France[13]. Therefore, As the Chinese presence in Africa spreads and deepens, it is increasingly likely that conflict between Chinese and Western interests will emerge, particularly in the competition to secure energy supplies[14]. many Medias and scholars all consider that China’s expansions encroach on the EU’s traditional interests and threat EU’s vested interests in Africa.
   From the late 1990s, China’s imports energy more and more from Africa, and then such phenomenon makes the Western powers worried. They think that China’s “expansion” encroach on the traditional interests of the Western[15]. BerntBerger, researcher of institute for peace research and security policy at the University of the University of Hamburg, expressed his concern: “Western countries still consider Africa in terms of their “spheres of influence” and China is usually considered as an “external player” in the region[16].” “China involves in the region (referring to Africa) more and more, and it makes decision-makers of European Union concern. The rise of external player like China and [...]