by Alec Wescott
07/18/2006

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Below is an excerpt of an article from Business Day:

JOHANNESBURG, (Business Day): Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip across Africa last month marked the third high-level delegation to the continent in a year. His pickings were fruitful: 71 agreements ranging from trade to politics to education. No wonder he calls Africa "the continent of opportunities". But is it for Africa, too? This year alone the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts China will carry on trade worth more than $50bn with a range of African states, and estimates the figure will reach $100bn by 2010. According to Beijing, Chinese trade with Africa jumped 35% from 2004 to 2005.

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Two key questions thus arise: does Beijing's rapid foray into Africa exacerbate factors of state weakness in key countries where resources have historically been as much a liability as an asset? And how can African states reap the advantages of dealing with China without undermining African leaders' broader project of improving governance and stability on the continent?

In some places, there seem to be tangible benefits in the relationship for Africa. Across the continent, China is investing in roads, railways, telecommunications, and hydro-electric power stations, and building schools, hospitals, and offices. A new military complex rises on the slopes behind Algiers. China is set to build a new railway across Angola and train telecommunications workers in preparation for a new fibre-optic network they will lay.

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Refugees International, meanwhile, has found that oil companies have been forcefully removing individuals in southern Sudan from land granted in oil concessions, and have even prevented internally displaced persons from returning home following the signing of the comprehensive peace accord between the north and the south last year. China buys 50%-60% of Sudan's annual oil export.

As the US Council on Foreign Relations noted last year: "China has successfully prevented the United Nations Security Council from serious sanctions or other preventive measures in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated in the Darfur region." In September, Beijing worked first to soften a resolution meant to punish Khartoum for perpetuating atrocities in Darfur by threatening to veto it, then abstained from voting on the final, weaker draft.

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Throughout Africa's postcolonial period, states blessed with ample resources have consistently ranked among the world's worst performers. Revenues from timber, oil, diamonds and ores have financed perpetual misery for millions of Africans. But today, African and international leaders are, for the most part, striving to find formulas for boosting and sustaining economic growth, ending conflict and improving governance on the continent. Part of the challenge is to harness those resources transparently and constructively. Employing 10000 Chinese workers to extract oil in Sudan, rather than creating critically needed local employment, does not meet that standard.

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Alec Wescott is an intern on a security and terrorism research project at the South African Institute of International Affairs.