Ten days after I wrote Handicapped by Values: The West v.s. China in Africa, the People’s Daily has published a commentary responding to those who would criticize China’s moves in Africa.
Reciprocity and win-win result are the cornerstone of China’s cooperation with Africa on energy. The bilateral exchanges go further than energy. What China does in Africa is absolutely different from what the West has done and said.The western media is hyping about China’s “predation” of Africa’s oil resources and the so-called “economic colonialism” there these days. Visits of Chinese leaders’ to Africa in a bid to promote the friendly, reciprocal cooperation between China and Africa are always labeled as “trip for energy” or “trip for oil”.
It is true that oil import is necessary to fuel the fast growing economy with a big population. Since 1993 when it became a net oil importer, China has paced up the diversification process of its energy supply, which has led to win-win energy partnership with many countries and regions in the world, including African nations.
However, China’s energy cooperation with Africa does not target at any third party and is built on mutual demands and double wins, which is absolutely different from the fire and sword used by Western colonialists in history.
What about Sudan?
As to China’s energy cooperation with Sudan which has been played up by the Western media, Chinese companies has begun to participate in the energy development in Sudan since the mid 1990s and invested 2.7 billion US dollars there by the end of 2003.It has built 1,506 kilometers of oil pipelines, a plant with capacity of 2.5 million tons of crude oil annually and scores of filling stations there. That has turned Sudan, which used to be an oil importer, to an oil exporter with a vertically integrated oil industrial system that enables exploitation, production, refining, transportation and marketing. In addition, china has invested some 20 million US dollars to build schools and hospitals in Sudan.
- BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
- « Dushanbe in Pictures
- » Even Burma Gets It
COMMENTS / 5 COMMENTS
China Law Blog added these pithy words on 30 Apr 06 at 12:34 pmAs a capitalist, I do find it unfair to label China’s forays into Africa as colonialism. I am, however, very much troubled by China’s willingness to ignore massive human rights violations by countries like the Sudan, but that is a whole ‘nother issue.
Sonagi added these pithy words on 01 May 06 at 6:55 pmGot a chuckle out of the ironic headline, Curzon.
Sonagi added these pithy words on 01 May 06 at 6:58 pmActually, it ’s not ironic, satirical, or sarcastic. Would you call that kind of playful headline?
Curzon added these pithy words on 02 May 06 at 1:02 amHumor through sarcastic self-degradation. The title sounds as if it was written by someone who actually believes that the People’s Daily was responding to a blog.
slim added these pithy words on 04 May 06 at 12:49 amTo be fair to China, the PRC had a strong affinity for pariah regimes and thuggish states even before it had an economy that was hungry for imported resources and beyond its competition with Taiwan for the right to pay millions to build embassies in Third World cities. Why didn’t the People’s Daily mention that?
