As in the rest
of Africa the
question of
Chinese influence
on the local economy and the
government regularly crops up
in conversations.
Growing Chinese imports
keep the freight and shipping
industries busy, and
Zimbabwean sales teams now
travel regularly to trade shows
in China rather than Britain
or Europe.
For an in-your-face
experience of the Chinese
presence in Africa all one
has to do is to visit Harare’s
Loncheng Plaza, which opened
in December 2013.
The mixed-use complex
consisting of 108 shops,
offices, restaurants and an
amusement park is a joint
venture between Chinese and
Zimbabwean investors.
Signs on the corridors in
the office block are in Chinese,
and the cash registers in the
main store print out receipts
in Chinese.
South African retailers will
be looking at this with some
concern – it is one of a growing
number of China Malls
throughout the continent.
According to the Longcheng
website there are three China
Malls in South Africa.
“The Chinese have managed
to accomplish at least one
impressive thing in Africa
– they have made everyone
else uncomfortable,” says
Alexis Okeowo in an article
published in The New Yorker.
“The Americans are uneasy,
worried about (and perhaps
jealous of) China’s rapid
and profitable investments
throughout the continent.
“Europeans have only to
look at trade figures: the share
of Africa’s exports that China
receives has shot up from one
to 15% over the past decade,
while the European Union’s
share has fallen from 36% to
23%
“Some Africans [too]
have become unhappy with
unbalanced relationships
in which China has taken
proprietorship of African
natural resources using
Chinese labour and equipment
without transferring skills and
technology.”
In Zimbabwe, the other
elephant in the room is the
question of what happens
when there is a successor to
president Robert Mugabe, who
is now 90.
“Although the extent of
China’s involvement will make
it difficult for any successor
to discountenance it, there is
also the distinct possibility
that a successor will want
to bring about some form of
accommodation with the West
after more than a decade of
disagreement,” says Obiodun
Alao in an occasional paper
written for the South African
Institute of International
Affairs.
“This may reduce, even if
minimally, China’s grip on the
affairs of the country,” he adds.
The logistics industry will be
monitoring developments with
interest.
They will determine whether
the trade flows to and from
China will continue growing or
if historic networks will need to
be revived and strengthened.
CAPTION
Signs in the corridors of the Longcheng Plaza in Harare are in
Chinese. This is one of the few that has an English translation.
