Chinese envoy denies ‘colonisation’ of Africa

‘WE never interfere in internal affairs.’ This was the central message on China’s investment strategy in Africa from the Chinese Government’s Special Envoy on African Affairs, Liu Guijin.

According to Liu, China’s investment in Africa stood at US$106,8 billion in 2008, which represents a 45 per cent increase from 2007.Liu estimated trade with Namibia at around N$526 million last year.On the fear that this represented a new Chinese colonialism in Africa, he responded that the basis for China-Africa relations was equality and clearly juxtaposed this with the European and American approach in saying that China ‘never attaches constraints on aid’. ‘We do not use grants as leverage to effect political change,’ he said.He said China would never ‘seek dominance in Africa…never seek hegemony… never bully countries’.Liu attributed this to the fact that China had always adopted an approach of ‘do not do to others unless you want it done to you’, borne out of the Confucian philosophical tradition. He related the story that Chinese explorers had discovered Africa 100 years before the Europeans but ‘had not colonised an inch’ due to their beliefs. On the claim that China was only interested in Africa’s resources, Liu responded that of Africa’s investment in Africa, only ‘small proportions [are] tied to minerals’. He said around US$10 billion had so far been invested by Chinese companies in African oil exploration, whereas American companies had invested US$168 billion over the same period.China imports 8,7 per cent of African oil according to Liu, whereas the US and EU both buy 33 per cent. Liu quoted the World Bank in saying that relations with China are fast becoming increasingly important in African development needs.According to estimates, Africa will need about US$20 billion in aid to overcome the financial crisis. Liu said the West had so far only pledged about US$10 billion, which meant aid from China would have to make up the bulk of the difference.He also quoted research which claimed that 20 per cent of all GDP growth in Africa had been contributed by China.On China’s apparent disregard for human rights when investing in war-torn countries such as Sudan, Liu said China had a different perspective on how to advance human rights.Liu said it was hypocritical to claim that ‘some human rights are better than others’.He justified investments in countries such as Sudan by saying that this would ‘advance [human rights] in an indirect way, for example enhancing the government’s capacity to deliver to their people’.Regarding Namibia, Liu said the countries had always been the closest of allies ever since Namibia’s war of independence and there were ‘no clouds in China-Namibia relations’. On the question of how many Chinese were currently living in Africa, Liu said that according to a recent study there were about 750 000, but he put the figure closer to 500 000. Liu is an Africa veteran who has been stationed on the continent for most of his career. He has been Chinese ambassador to South Africa and Zimbabwe.