At the start of the China-Africa summit, Xi Jinping has reiterated that China is a continuation of investments in Africa, no political conditions. Africa-expert Helmut ash lights For and against the Chinese policy.
DW: to what Extent is the emphasis of China, that it’s engagement in Africa is not making any “political conditions” in its Economy, the facts?
Helmut ash: It is true that China has, until now a marginal issue of Non-recognition of Taiwan, no explicit political conditions. It is formally a type of “Non-intervention policy”, but it can run in high-profile cases to a very marked de-facto engagement. So with the change of power in Zimbabwe, where not long ago the dictator Mugabe is deposed and the Chinese government has never been able to convincingly deny that the current President Mnangagwa has first obtained the consent of Beijing. Everyone knows that the ZANU-PF, the ruling party in Zimbabwe, has been supported over the decades massif of China. You can call the non-political conditions, but by political influence.
Africa-expert Helmut ash: In some respects we can learn from China
Why all the emphasis China at the same time, the cooperation, no political conditions would be attached?
I don’t think that has to do strongly that a programmatic ex negativo is interference, of course, very much an influence. I don’t want to take the most important example is the human rights situation in several countries of Africa, which is very critical, and where Western countries, especially the European Union and Germany, very well interfere and say: and So it goes, we bind our development aid to the improvement of the human rights situation, and if the does not occur, then we stop the development aid to emergency aid, or humanitarian aid. This policy is the right one, you will unfortunately not held due to the migration question lately, so consistently, for example, compared to countries such as the Sudan. This is very positive of China, and the attempts by the Chinese government to oppose your own Position.
This Position comprises more, than only to say: We do not mix?
Yes. It is an indirect criticism of the European development policy, and it is clear what was the Tenor of the criticism, indirectly, the “neo-colonialism”, the Europeans and the Americans in coupling practiced with their development assistance. These neo-colonialist train there are quite. But as I have just the example of the criticism of human rights violations, this political influence in Europe is also Positive. And this differentiation, we do not see in the Chinese policy. The Chinese government never picked up on the fact that they would have somewhere criticized consistently with human rights violations.
In the Chinese money built the industrial Park in Hawassa in Ethiopia’s high quality leather and textile products for the European and the American market are produced.
The Chinese is Not to criticize the interference loop?
You have to distinguish between two Complexes. The one I just mentioned; the other is the whole complex of democracy, free elections and a free press. To take the second complex we are – and that is the influence of part of the existing and the planned new EU partnership agreement with Africa – explicitly, by saying: We promote multi-party democracy, the change of power through free elections, etc., The work in some African countries they are now very well-known examples are Senegal and Ghana. The Problem – and here is the Chinese type of cooperation is not quite a point that these are not necessarily the countries in Africa which have the least corruption, and do the most for their economic development. This is the so-called authoritarian developing countries, such as Ethiopia and Rwanda, whose democratic System has massive flaws and the same probably, similar to how China itself, a very efficient development policy to do more.
Why are such aspects for the development aid not important at all? Or, you can interfere also?
We have a good understanding of a number of institutions, including an independent judicial system, are essential for the success of development programmes. On the other hand, one can argue well about what needs to happen in what order, in other words, if it is really crucial that a country has in a relatively early stage of its development, a multi-party system and regular change of power, as we know it for example from Ghana, Nigeria or Senegal, where, however, the other development efforts are lagging far.
Inauguration of the International free trade zone in Djibouti with Chinese trade representatives
How does the Chinese compared to the Western and German development cooperation in Africa?
The Chinese development cooperation, in terms of speed, range and extent of Infrastructure development – Railways, roads, telecommunications and so on – the-Western cooperation in the shadow. Not least, by package solutions, in which several Chinese companies are on a major infrastructure measure set. Our own development Bank, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, in comparison, unimaginative, since China is much better. And there is a second area, namely the industrial promotion, the China’s development cooperation is much more effective than the Western, and the German. We discover new, we also need to assist in the area of manufacturing investment in Africa specifically and massively, in order to make the field more attractive for German investors. Since the people’s Republic of China for a couple of decades ahead of us.
Germany must take care so less about the policy in Africa and more business?
My plea is not absolute, that we should ask the legitimate political concerns we represent, now, a piece of far in the Background, on the contrary. That is happening now in the context of refugee policy, and the so-called “Better Management of Migration” and there is an appreciation of regimes such as in Sudan or Eritrea, is quite unacceptable.
But what can we learn from China, is, in fact, to put together attractive funding packages, with regard to investment and export promotion, and is active company together, also with a tax are recognised on large projects in Africa. The Whole is, finally, from the point of view of job creation. Everyone knows that if you want to combat the reasons for Flight, at least a little bit, then jobs are the key term. And this is exactly the point, German investors have to be much stronger and rewarded promoted, if you create in African countries work in future-oriented industries.
Prof. Dr. Helmut ash was since the 1986 economic Advisor to governments in Africa, high school teacher at the universities of Leipzig and Mainz, as well as the founding Director of the German evaluation Institute of development cooperation