A world where the gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase with each passing
day cannot
witness lasting peace. This is as much true among nations as within countries. The rioting in London demonstrates this point. Unlike the West, China has adopted the path of constructive engagement with poor
countries, especially in
Africa which has proved to be mutually beneficial
As London burns and the US is downgraded with fears of another recessionary wave hitting the world, there is one thing that becomes amply clear. You can’t have a world full of inequity and live in peace. Never before in its history has the gap between the rich and the poor widened as it has in the last 40 years in America.
Every time the Democrats, when in power, have tried to increase even half a per cent of tax on the rich to use it for those marginalised by the markets, the Republicans have screamed hoarse. No doubt, President Barack Obama has knowledge about economics, but what is happening in America right now is a shame, especially the way Republicans are making the scene look worse than it is.
The problem in the UK is another side of the same coin. The Whites were sitting happily claiming that the Blacks and other minorities live better in the UK than they would have in their country of origin. However, happiness is a comparative phenomenon, and when the gap between the rich and the poor grows, the poor hit back. It has happened in France and now it’s happening in London and around.
The lesson is clear — if we don’t focus on decreasing this gap and have a global policy for the same, the world won’t see peace. And it has to happen at a global level with richer countries investing in the poorer nations. There is no other nation which is showing the way better than China is, by investing in Africa and helping it develop — no doubt with their own long-term gains in mind. A look at the way they are going about it has huge lessons for Western nations as well as countries like India.
The Sino-African relationship dates back to beginning of 200 BC, when an explorer named Du Huan, during Tang dynasty, visited African countries (Sudan, Egypt and a few others) in pursuit of trade and commerce. The legacy that was initiated by Huan has never stopped. And particularly over the last few decades, the Chinese tilt towards Africa has been seemingly visible.
Chinese premiers have been visiting Africa regularly since 1979 with Vice-Premier Qian Qichen paying visits to more than 35 African countries between 1990 and 1998. If not this, what else could indicate Chinese intentions more but the fact that President Hu Jiantao made more than 17 visits to African nations during 2006-07 and then again, a four-nation African tour in 2009 compared to just one visit to the US in the last 13 years? In all these years, the Chinese have consolidated their African engagement through their support to Africa during their liberation movements, which eventually took the shape of strategic partnerships in resource exploitation. Of course, most of the modern Sino-African ties have a shade of resource-grabbing rather than resource-sharing.
The Chinese entry into its most sought after African investment destinations started intelligently behind the veil of “no-strings attached” (unlike the West, particularly the US, which mostly believes in aid tied with conditions). In November 2006, 48 African heads of state met at a conference in Beijing that aimed towards finalising numerous China-Africa deals. It was a meeting to step up investments in Africa. As per reports, by the end of last year, Sino-African bilateral trade crossed the $100 billion mark and is estimated to be growing by more than 40 per cent every year. Interestingly, Chinese aid to Africa is far more than World Bank’s developmental aid to Africa.
Amongst other African nations, Nigeria has been one of the most favourite destinations for the Chinese, and understandably so. Mr Hu Jintao has made several visits to Nigeria and also has attended two joint sessions of the National Assembly of Nigeria (in 2004 and 2006). In 2004, China helped Nigeria to pitch for a UN Security Council seat; and in 2007, the Chinese even launched a satellite for Nigeria.
China’s relations with its unequal crony Nigeria over the last four decades are substantial enough and their investments ran to the tune of $7.5 billion by the end of the year 2010. However, China could brandish its significant clout on Nigeria from the dawn of this century, when the first China-Africa ministerial conference took place in Beijing in October 2000.
Although former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo could not attend the conference (and instead deputed other high-ranking delegates), a consensus on mutual cooperation in trade and commerce was reached, resulting in the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) winning a contract to build 500 housing units for athletes in the African Games held in Abuja. In 2001, a mutual agreement was reached to establish corresponding trading offices in either country (called Nigeria Trade Office in Beijing and China Investment Development and Trade Promotion Center in Abuja).
In the same year, Mr Obasanjo made a diplomatic trip to China wherein a number of bilateral agreements were signed to boost trade, investment and mutual benefits. China created a storm in Nigeria by signing a number of agreements and accords in the following years partly because of mutual interests and partly because of a warm personal rapport between Mr Obasanjo and Mr Hu Jintao. In 2006, Mr Hu Jintao reciprocated Mr Obasanjo’s move by visiting his country with a number of windfall lucrative offers and MoUs that included financing infrastructure development to the tune of $500 million and providing an exporting allowance of 40 million yuan or $6.2 million to Nigeria.
The writer is a management guru and Editor, The Sunday Indian.
day cannot
witness lasting peace. This is as much true among nations as within countries. The rioting in London demonstrates this point. Unlike the West, China has adopted the path of constructive engagement with poor
countries, especially in
Africa which has proved to be mutually beneficial
As London burns and the US is downgraded with fears of another recessionary wave hitting the world, there is one thing that becomes amply clear. You can’t have a world full of inequity and live in peace. Never before in its history has the gap between the rich and the poor widened as it has in the last 40 years in America.
Every time the Democrats, when in power, have tried to increase even half a per cent of tax on the rich to use it for those marginalised by the markets, the Republicans have screamed hoarse. No doubt, President Barack Obama has knowledge about economics, but what is happening in America right now is a shame, especially the way Republicans are making the scene look worse than it is.
The problem in the UK is another side of the same coin. The Whites were sitting happily claiming that the Blacks and other minorities live better in the UK than they would have in their country of origin. However, happiness is a comparative phenomenon, and when the gap between the rich and the poor grows, the poor hit back. It has happened in France and now it’s happening in London and around.
The lesson is clear — if we don’t focus on decreasing this gap and have a global policy for the same, the world won’t see peace. And it has to happen at a global level with richer countries investing in the poorer nations. There is no other nation which is showing the way better than China is, by investing in Africa and helping it develop — no doubt with their own long-term gains in mind. A look at the way they are going about it has huge lessons for Western nations as well as countries like India.
The Sino-African relationship dates back to beginning of 200 BC, when an explorer named Du Huan, during Tang dynasty, visited African countries (Sudan, Egypt and a few others) in pursuit of trade and commerce. The legacy that was initiated by Huan has never stopped. And particularly over the last few decades, the Chinese tilt towards Africa has been seemingly visible.
Chinese premiers have been visiting Africa regularly since 1979 with Vice-Premier Qian Qichen paying visits to more than 35 African countries between 1990 and 1998. If not this, what else could indicate Chinese intentions more but the fact that President Hu Jiantao made more than 17 visits to African nations during 2006-07 and then again, a four-nation African tour in 2009 compared to just one visit to the US in the last 13 years? In all these years, the Chinese have consolidated their African engagement through their support to Africa during their liberation movements, which eventually took the shape of strategic partnerships in resource exploitation. Of course, most of the modern Sino-African ties have a shade of resource-grabbing rather than resource-sharing.
The Chinese entry into its most sought after African investment destinations started intelligently behind the veil of “no-strings attached” (unlike the West, particularly the US, which mostly believes in aid tied with conditions). In November 2006, 48 African heads of state met at a conference in Beijing that aimed towards finalising numerous China-Africa deals. It was a meeting to step up investments in Africa. As per reports, by the end of last year, Sino-African bilateral trade crossed the $100 billion mark and is estimated to be growing by more than 40 per cent every year. Interestingly, Chinese aid to Africa is far more than World Bank’s developmental aid to Africa.
Amongst other African nations, Nigeria has been one of the most favourite destinations for the Chinese, and understandably so. Mr Hu Jintao has made several visits to Nigeria and also has attended two joint sessions of the National Assembly of Nigeria (in 2004 and 2006). In 2004, China helped Nigeria to pitch for a UN Security Council seat; and in 2007, the Chinese even launched a satellite for Nigeria.
China’s relations with its unequal crony Nigeria over the last four decades are substantial enough and their investments ran to the tune of $7.5 billion by the end of the year 2010. However, China could brandish its significant clout on Nigeria from the dawn of this century, when the first China-Africa ministerial conference took place in Beijing in October 2000.
Although former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo could not attend the conference (and instead deputed other high-ranking delegates), a consensus on mutual cooperation in trade and commerce was reached, resulting in the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) winning a contract to build 500 housing units for athletes in the African Games held in Abuja. In 2001, a mutual agreement was reached to establish corresponding trading offices in either country (called Nigeria Trade Office in Beijing and China Investment Development and Trade Promotion Center in Abuja).
In the same year, Mr Obasanjo made a diplomatic trip to China wherein a number of bilateral agreements were signed to boost trade, investment and mutual benefits. China created a storm in Nigeria by signing a number of agreements and accords in the following years partly because of mutual interests and partly because of a warm personal rapport between Mr Obasanjo and Mr Hu Jintao. In 2006, Mr Hu Jintao reciprocated Mr Obasanjo’s move by visiting his country with a number of windfall lucrative offers and MoUs that included financing infrastructure development to the tune of $500 million and providing an exporting allowance of 40 million yuan or $6.2 million to Nigeria.
The writer is a management guru and Editor, The Sunday Indian.
