US ill-placed to lecture Africa on colonialism
- Source: Global Times
- [13:19 June 13 2011]
- Comments
During a visit to Zambia on Friday, US State Sectary Hillary Clinton warned that China is engaging in "new colonialism" in Africa. She indicated that China has been grabbing natural resources from African countries by paying off their leaders but without truly contributing to the development of the continent, especially in terms of political reform. She also accused Chinese companies of not hiring locals.
While showing sympathy to Africans, Clinton may have forgotten that her own country has been stirring wars among African countries and enjoying enormous profits from arms sales, while continuously draining oil and other natural resources from the continent.
It sounds as if air strikes do a better job than aid for economic progress to ensure "good governance" of these countries.
News reports by Western media have already documented how China has helped African countries build up their own infrastructure and train locals. According to a NPR report on Saturday, many Africans do see China as a "boon" to their countries. Back in 2007, a BBC news report said many Chinese firms employed large numbers of local workers and that these had learned many valuable skills.
Another study conducted by foreign aid expert Deborah Brautigam found that China "has kept an active menu of aid projects in more than 45 African countries" and that China's "annual aid commitments in Africa sometimes surpassed those of Japan, Norway, Sweden, and even Britain." Her study also provided examples of China building roads, railways, schools and low-cost housing for African countries with money directly tied to these infrastructure projects, whereas certain loans by Western banks were utterly opaque.
We have to admit that some Chinese companies have brought bad habits from China to Africa, such as payment issues with their employees. Other companies still need to adapt to different cultures and rules in order to do business smoothly with the local workforce.
Because of language barriers, most Chinese employees in Africa work in a closed compound and shy away from adequate communication with local authorities and local people. This lack of communication may cause speculation and misunderstandings.
Some Western criticisms suggest that China should help push for democratic reform in Africa, but China has already been doing this by first ensuring the fundamental human rights - to improve African economies and living standards.
While Clinton lectures Africans on democracy, China holds the belief that Africans can manage their own future without the involvement of foreign powers. China's entrepreneurs will continue to do business in Africa, and do so in a manner of mutual respect.
