Africa's Culture Of Corruption Is Viewed As An Opportunity By China

Image: China's President Xi Jinping (C) attends the bilateral meeting with President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 31 August 2018. Roman Pilipey/Pool via Reuters

Wes Martin, National Interest: Corruption Is China's Friend in Its Quest to Dominate Africa

China doesn't care about how business is done as long as it is China's business.

China’s economic expansion into Africa has benefited Beijing tremendously by allowing access to natural resources. Yet it forced the continent’s national governments to borrow heavily for infrastructure projects. Moreover, with China’s expansion came unmitigated corruption that no one bothers to hide anymore.

Why should America care? Because China’s strategy in Africa is the reflection of its strategy, in which, like in a giant game of Go, Beijing captures territory and imposes its modus operandi on lands from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

When significant investors leave a former poster child of good governance—such as Botswana—the U.S. government and American businesses should care. In recent years, when western companies leave, the Chinese march in. To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, China wins, we lose.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Communists use to joke about capitalists more than willing to sell the rope to Communists that they would then use to hang them. Today .... it is Communist China that has no qualms on selling anything to those who can pay, or to lend money to countries that are not able to pay back. The author in the above report uses Botswana as an example on how corruption is endemic in Africa. And while no one in the West is willing to deal with Botswana today, I am willing to bet that China will be more than willing to give a helping hand.

China's £4bn Drive To Buy Africa's Mineral Wealth

From The Telegraph:

China's modern-day "Scramble for Africa" to buy up the continent's mineral wealth enters a new phase this week.

Full scale work by the Chinese begins to rebuild 2,050 miles of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo, left to rot in the rainforest after the Belgian colonialists pulled out 48 years ago and further shattered by seven years of war.

The vast project, which will triple Congo's current paved road network, is part of China's largest investment in Africa, a £4.5 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal signed in January.

As well as the roads, Beijing has promised to repair 2,000 miles of largely defunct railways, build 32 hospitals and 145 health centres, install two electricity distribution networks, construct two hydropower dams and two new airports.

Read more ....

My Comment: China's involvement in Africa has always been a two edge sword. They come in with the capital to lay down an infrastructure, but that infrastructure comes with a high cost that is not realized now .... but later.

What the Chinese are not sensitive to is that agreements with third world nations are always fluid. Oil companies have learned this hard way .... the Chinese will also if prices for strategic metals continue their upward climb. African nations have been the beneficiaries of hundreds of billions of dollars in aid from Europe and the U.S. for the past two decades ..... but unlike the West the Chinese do not give their money away.

Will the Chinese be as accommodating as oil companies if their assets are nationalized by countries .... my gut tells me no. Their money comes with long strings attached.