Friend or Foe: Exploring China’s motives for aid in Africa

Written By: Brazil Fagan
Program Intern, World Affairs Council of Atlanta
Student, University of Georgia
Published: 8/4/2016

China’s growing influence in Africa has become a point of controversy and promise in the last decade. With critics citing that China’s aid with few conditions are just a method for China to extract Africa’s many natural resources. While supporters of foreign aid believe the China-Africa economic alliance is a partnership where both members mutually benefit. Critics contend that China’s loose; seemingly condition-free loaning is just a method to extract Africa’s valuable natural resources. Indeed, China has been friendly with a number of countries ruled by unsavory regimes. Supporters of China’s aggressive development, though, see China-Africa relations as a mutually beneficial partnership. A closer look into the details reveals that the majority of China’s foreign aid is in the form of concessional loans for infrastructure. Concessional loans stipulate that China, in return for its investment, will reap most of the financial benefits of the project or plant. Between 2010 and 2012, 55.7 percent of China’s foreign aid was in the form of concessional loans. Additionally, most of the loans were for infrastructure investments projects that ultimately benefit China’s evolving private sector.

China’s checkbook generosity in the form of charitable aid is another source of tension. Aid can be a blessing and a curse. If successfully reinvested, aid can reduce poverty, fund noble foundations, and provide relief for natural disasters and jumpstart a nation’s economy. If not, aid can be a drug to developing countries, creating a sense of dependency. Postdoctoral research fellow Roudabeh Kishi and professor of political geography Clionadh Raleigh explained when China gives aid to a particular country, the government tends to turn against their own people and also they become more violent against their citizens. Another factor in China’s expansion in Africa is that China is not proportionally hiring locals, but they are bringing their own task force.  Though these figures cannot be confirmed due to government to government deals, immigration policy, and other reasons, there are an estimated “one million Chinese migrants working across 54 countries” (Yoon Jung Park, Perspective). These migrants are no different from other migrants seeking a better life in a different country, but with some African countries’ high unemployment, this fact is daunting and unsettling.

Though China’s investments in Africa are complex, there is not significant evidence that China’s partnership is immoral. China has been quite pragmatic with its relations with Africa. A benefit of the partnership for African countries is that China does not have any interest in changing the sociopolitical culture of its partners. Since China is not a member of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), their donations do not come with clauses for democracy or social well beings.

Why is this a positive attribute of China’s financing strategies? Well, promoting democracy and social welfare can be an expensive task for a developing country. Cultural factors can also make promoting these conditions impossible. These factors are also one of the reasons why African countries are turning away from Western ones. Chinese firms have created jobs, improved local infrastructure, and created vocational education programs in Africa. South African President Jacob Zuma favors China-Africa relations and believes that their partnership can be a catalyst for economic growth. China will loan $500m to South Africa’s state power company to improve nuclear co-operation.

The impact of China’s aggressive development in Africa will not be fully seen until the future. However, China’s actions will either create a strong and formidable business partnership capable of setting new standards for the global economy or it will produce a debt filled maze that will burn China, exploit Africa, and destabilize the global community.