‘Africa must reap the benefits of Chinese trade’

Many sceptics believe China’s interest in Africa is oil and resources-driven and continue to watch the developing relationship with raised eyebrows, but Africans for the most part have welcomed the Chinese with open arms. According to Professor Garth Shelton from the University of the Witwatersrand, China has benefited the pockets of ordinary Africans who are happy to see trade with the East grow. “Consumers across Africa are welcoming the increased trade with China and the East. In many cases goods are now affordable to them and they are in a position to buy necessary products they could never afford before.” He said it was important that the very “forward-looking relationship” be unpacked to ensure Africans truly benefited and the sceptics were proved wrong. “The political agenda has been set and the agreements are in place. It is now time for business to develop and implement deals that will produce outcomes to benefit the people of Africa.” Shelton said with the right infrastructure in place there was no reason why SADC could not become a globally competitive region. “A good example would be to get China to build railroads in the SADC region to not only open up trade routes, but allow for the free and efficient movement of goods. “Africa must take responsibility in this relationship and ensure they are empowered to accelerate the foreign direct investment from China to address the trade deficit and see more exports from Africa to China to strengthen their own capacity.”