China and Africa – a perfectly symbiotic relationship

While Africa is rich in resources
such as diamonds, gold, uranium,
petroleum, livestock, cobalt,
maize and strategic minerals, it
consists mainly of developing
states with limited capacity and
infrastructure.
According to the Africa-China
Business Forum, China can
address lack of capacity as it
needs natural resources.
The self-described leader of the
developing world, China has seen
its economic growth surpass its
available natural resources. This
has made it highly dependent on
imports to fuel its current rate of
production.
Not only is China developing
at an alarmingly fast rate, it is
also constantly looking to
locate natural resources and
other minerals. Africa, on
the other hand, has abundant
resources but is in desperate
need of development.
“China recognises this and
is offering to assist Africa’s
development by investing
in infrastructure projects in
exchange for its natural resources
– and that will help oil China’s
production machine and feed its
over one billion people,” said a
spokesman for the forum.
Natural resources form the
basis of the economies of most
African countries. Agricultural
products and mineral resources
are used as food and for
commercial purposes – to sell
locally or as exports. Africa’s
natural resources are abundant.
South Africa for example has
abundant amounts of maize,
wheat, sugar, fruits, livestock,
poultry, gold, diamonds, uranium
and chromium while the
Democratic Republic of Congo
is famous for its cassava, maize,
coffee, rubber, copper, diamonds,
cobalt, gold and zinc for example.
China’s interest in Africa,
however, is not new. Its
involvement goes back to the
late 1960s and early 1970s where
it provided developmental aid
to African socialist regimes,
and supported anti-colonial
insurgencies.
Africa is well aware that
China’s renewed involvement
in the continent stems from its
need to access Africa’s natural
resources, primarily energy and
minerals. For many African
countries this transparency
is what differentiates China
from the West. Both China
and Africa are clear on their
intentions and neither side
wishes to influence the other
ideologically or politically, says
the forum spokesman.