How
much can Raytheon, Mastercard, Nokia, Monsanto and the like be
trusted to invest in long-term outcomes in the global South? When you
see the actors behind U.S. ‘aid and development’ in Africa, is it
any wonder that African leaders would look for any other partner to
work with?
by
Jim Carey
Part
4 - China will drive African prosperity and security
The U.S.
will attempt to create an idea that China is somehow “preying” on
African nations (as if the West would never!), but it seems genuinely
that this isn’t’ the case. What is really happening is that
Africa is choosing to work with China and this, in turn, means that
the U.S. stake in the continent is reduced and replaced by Chinese
interests.
Concerns
about the declining U.S. role in the continent are even surfacing in
the U.S. military, which feels China will throw off “anti-terror”
operations in Africa by stabilizing the continent and pushing U.S.
security interests out. The U.S. military has expressed concern about
this for years and now their fears seem to be playing out, as China
increases security cooperation with partner states and has even built
its first military base in Africa, just miles down the road from a
U.S. base in Djibouti.
However,
the big subversion of U.S. interests that is still forthcoming is the
upset victory of Chinese investment over U.S. capital. Not only is
China investing more money in Africa, Chinese projects and investment
have proven to be much more popular than U.S. involvement in African
countries.
In 2015,
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a new era of “win-win”
development in Africa that would allow investors to “do good
while doing right,” and it now seems to not only be paying off
for the firms involved but also for the people of Africa. It should
come as no surprise that Africans are rejecting U.S. aid and
investment — which is often highly conditional or implemented with
violence, while China works as an honest broker respecting African
nations’ preservation of sovereignty and self-determination.
The U.S.
continues to combat this freedom of the African partners by labeling
it as “Chinese influence” and putting out “news” stories of
“Chinese interference,” such as the one behind China’s alleged
involvement in the recent coup in Zimbabwe that ousted President
Robert Mugabe. According to U.S. sources such as CNN, China was
guilty of facilitating the coup by Mugabe’s ousted Vice President
because they didn’t do anything to stop it.
How CNN
sees this as interference is unclear, but it demonstrates a general
feeling among the U.S. elite that China is somehow cheating and that
a major reason Africans prefer Chinese partnership to that of the
U.S. can’t simply be Beijing’s respect for their partners’
sovereignty and internal affairs. However, this seems to be the
reality. If the U.S. doesn’t figure that out soon, it is likely to
be left in the wake of progress emanating from Beijing.
***
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