Africa urges China for more proactive economic role
SHANGHAI, May 14: Chinese investment in Africa remains a one-way street and Beijing must do more to ensure its money truly benefits the continent, the head of the African Development Bank said on Monday.
In an interview ahead of the bank’s meeting in Shanghai, its President Donald Kaberuka told AFP that China’s involvement was vital to the continent’s development but Beijing needed to give more in terms of technology transfer and reserving some key posts in Chinese projects for Africans.
“Those issues, we have to deal with them. There are real and they are a source of friction,” Kaberuka said.
“In areas like textiles and some low-level products, those issues should be dealt with because otherwise that would compromise the bigger picture.”
Kaberuka said the bank’s decision to hold its annual meeting on Wednesday in China’s financial hub indicated the growing importance of Sino-African ties.
China has launched a major push to increase its aid, investment and overall influence in Africa but has drawn accusations that it is motivated purely by the need to gain access to the continent’s oil and other natural resources. Beijing has been quick to highlight its construction of roads and other infrastructure in some countries and to dismiss comparisons with the past colonial plundering of African resources by Western powers.
However, Kaberuka said China’s interest in the continent remains centred on its resources and much work is needed to ensure a more mature economic partnership.
“Africa is still a commodity-dependent economy so whether our partners are looking for commodities is central to the relationship.”
Kaberuka said Africa, with the bank’s leadership and China’s cooperation, needs to plan how to move up the economic value chain by first investing in its own infrastructure.
“The Africa-China partnership is highly concentrated in the oil and mining industry ... it is still commodity based and I think the challenge for the Chinese and ourselves is to move up the value chain.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t find a mechanism to encourage Chinese investors to go to (Africa) and produce higher value products there ... It can make it a win-win situation. The timing is right to discuss the issues of this relationship.” Kaberuka said it is largely up to Africa, not China, to make this happen.
“That is Africa’s agenda, it cannot be Europe’s agenda or China’s agenda, it has to be Africa’s agenda. It very much depends on what these African countries do with these new opportunities,” he said.—AFP
