China Africa News

• Xi touts opportunity for co-op with Africa – China Daily (CHN)

CAN comment: Mozambique is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and has huge potential to grow further due to significant gas and coal reserves in the country. While major Chinese and multinational companies are competing for a share of the reserves it is no surprise to see President Xi meeting with President Guebuza of Mozambique and talking about strengthening the relationship.

• How Third World benefits from China – Daily Nation (KEN)

CAN comment: Direct evidence of China’s ever growing campaign to influence Africans through the media. This article provides effusive praise of China’s role in Africa and was published in a major Kenyan daily. The writer is the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Kenya.

• Africa’s strategy must be to gain from China – City Press (ZAF)

CAN comment: Great article by Mthuli Ncube and Michael Fairbanks calling for African countries (particularly Nigeria, Angola and South Africa) to club together to negotiate tougher terms with China. A particular goal they set out is to persuade China to build greater linking infrastructure between countries to help build regional trade.

• Despite its extravagance, Chinese aid not always welcomed in Africa – Asahi Shimbum (JPN)

CAN comment: Interesting article in the Japanese press commenting on the benefits and pitfalls of Chinese aid, and the struggle of other nations to compete with the generous terms offered under Chinese deals. The article quotes the OECD’s estimate that Chinese aid was worth $2.47 billion in 2011 and that in 2009, 46 percent of China’s aid went to Africa.

• African traders flocked to Guangzhou for the cheap goods but are staying to run manufacturing operations – Quartz Trading

CAN comment: There is a great deal of coverage of the Chinese in Africa, but much less of the growing diaspora of Africans in China, particularly in manufacturing export hubs like Guangzhou. These traders play a vital role in bringing Chinese goods into Africa and have settled into life in China.

• Automakers map out sales plans in Africa – China Daily (CHN)

CAN comment: Chinese car companies are increasingly looking to Africa as a growth market, but African countries need to do more to persuade them to move value added production to Africa. One car maker Foton is increasingly assembling vehicles locally in Africa using kits imported from China. For Chinese companies this provides a way to avoid the high tariffs on imported cars in nations such as South Africa, Algeria and Egypt.