China’s assistance to Africa, a stone bridge of Sino-African
relations
V.Maurice GOUNTIN
PhD Candidate in Diplomacy
Renmin University of China
The rise of China is one of the most discussed issues in the new century not only
because of China’s rapid economic growth, but also because of its active diplomacy in
the world affairs, especially in Africa, seen by the traditional western powers as their
privileged sphere of influence. In fact, the active presence of China in Africa today is the
result of longtime relations that have been established since the period after the Second
World War.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China and the African nations
came together mainly guided by the political struggle just after the Second World War.
The participation of a few African nations to the Non-Aligned Movement conference in
Bandung in 1955 is proof of this political motivation. The few African nations that
attended the conference met with the Chinese leaders headed by Prime Minister Zhou
Enlai and exchanged their stance on the common political issues. The African nations
appreciated China’s stance and supported it. Although the Sino-African relations from
this time were based on political struggle of what had become the struggle of the third
world, but due to the hard economic situation of African nations, China’s early assistance
to Africa became a stone bridge of Sino-African relations.
China’s first assistance to Africa
After the Bandung conference, on July 26 1956, due to the nationalization of the Suez
Canal, a crisis evolved between France, Britain and Egypt. China gave full support to
Egypt's decision. Chairman Mao at the opening of the eighth Chinese communist party
conference declared: “we maintain our full support to Egypt’s government recovery of
the Suez canal, we also oppose to any violation of the Egyptian sovereignty and to any
army interference in Egypt”1.Beside this political support of China to Egypt, China
quickened the fulfillment of the China-Egypt trade agreement and increased the
production of steel rolling to be exported to Egypt. In October 1956, after the start of the
Suez canal war, China’s rapidly created the“ resistance to aggression and aid to Egypt
committee ”and the “Sino-Egypt friendship association”. These two organisations took
the commitment to do their best to provide assistance to the people of Egypt to fight
against the aggression of France and Great Britain. Chinese leaders gathered financial
and material resources to be sent to Egypt after the Egyptian government required them.
Chairman Mao said this about Egypt’s requirement: “We in China are also ready to do
what we can to help Egypt, and our assistance is without any strings attached. If you can
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pay, you may do so; if you cannot, let it be; we shall provide assistance free of charge. Of
course a country with national pride, Egypt may wish to pay back our assistance. An
account may be kept for future repayment, or repayment after 100years....we can do our
best to help Egypt”.2 The statement above shows how deep the sympathy of the Chinese
leaders is to Egypt and also how much strong their support to Africa against imperialism
was. At the same time can we notice the economic weakness of Egypt. Chairman Mao
was apprehensive about Egypt's ability to repay their debt and established an estimated
one hundred years time frame for repayment.
Within a day time, China reacted to Egypt's requirements by providing a large amount
of food, emergency facilities, equipment and munitions. On 10 November 1956, the
Chinese government offered 20 million Swiss francs to Egypt helping to buy needed
goods and materials. The Red Cross Association contributed 100 thousand RMB Yuan to
Egypt and dispatched a medical team to Egypt for emergency assistance.3After this first
assistance, China’s assistance reached many other African nations on their respective
requirements.
Other African nations to receive China’s aid
About the economic assistance to foreign countries, Primer Zhou in June 1956 said :
“China is a newly liberated country. Our economy is not developed, we’re still not
economically independent and have a very limited economic capacity. We are willing to
set up economic cooperation with other countries through trade. But as we also know that
the economic independence is very important to consolidate the political independence,
while constructing our economy, we will also try our best within our capability to help
other countries economic development”4.This statement shows the commitment of China
to provide assistance to other nations especially the one of Africa despite the difficult
economic situation China itself was experiencing.
Motivated by the success of the Bandung Conference, the African nations continued
their struggle against imperialism and colonialism. Apart from the North African nations
success in getting their political independence, the movement for independance reached
Sub-saharan nations, from French colonies to English, then from Portuguese to the
Belgian colonies. From the Bandung conference to 1963, China has already established
diplomatic relations with 14 of the African nations of the newly independent countries.
As the newly independent countries have been having economic difficulties, China was
providing aid to them. In 1960, the amount of China’s aid to foreign countries was 57.6
million USD, African countries receiving 25 million USD;in 1961, this amount was 167.2
million USD, African countries receiving 39.2 million USD ;in 1963, the amount of aid
to foreign countries has decreased to 90.4 million USD due to three years of natural
disasters in China, but aid amount to African countries increased to 74 million USD. 5
In fact, during a three year period at the time, the amount of aid to Africa increased
despite the natural disasters China had experienced and the instability of relations
between African countries and China (at this time Taiwan was competing with the P.R.C.
in Africa). The continuing deteriorisation of relations between China and the Soviet
Union can not be overlooked. China has been seeking more political support from the
African nations, by establishing governmental policy that provided aid to foreign
countries.
2
China’s aid policy declaration to foreign countries
From December 1963 to February 1964, Chinese Primer Zhou Enlai made his first
official state visit to 10 African countries including Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia,
Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. During this historical visit, the
Primer became aware of the African nations urgent need for aid. He then put forward the
five principles governing the development of relations with Arab and African countries
and the eight principles guiding China’s foreign assistance. 6
The eight principles emphasized on the equality and mutual benefit, the respect of
sovereignty of the African nations that should govern the China’s aid. It also clearly
showed the means and objectives of this aid and then fully reflected Sino-Africa relations
strengthening economic and technical cooperation .It also reflected the true desire of the
promotion of social development of the people of Africa and China. 7
After the declaration of China’s aid policy to foreign countries, African nations warmly
welcomed such a decision. Between 1964 and 1965 six African countries established
diplomatic relations with China .Many of the leaders of these countries visited China
seeking aid which China duly provided.
Between 1965 to 1969, the total amount of Chinese aid to Africa was about 200 million
USD which was mainly directed to the “the core allies” such as Tanzania, Zambia, and
Guinea ...etc.8
In the 1970’s, China’s aid to foreign countries reached its highest level with an amount
of 722.5 million USD, aid to the Africa nations accounting for 460 million USD
exceeding the amount of aid to Africa in the past years by 60 millions USD. Between
1971 and 1973, China’s aid to foreign countries was respectively 565.7 million, 647.9
million and 229 million USD, aid to African countries respectively accounting for 323.5
million, 282 million and 199 million USD. 9
After the end of Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1976, an increasing number of African
nations established diplomatic ties with China, but with construction of TanZam railway,
only Zambia and Tanzania received the biggest aid project China had ever offered in its
history to foreign countries. The railway was a way of linking Tanzania to Zambia while
bypassing apartheid South Africa and is 1860.5 kms long. The execution of the project
started in October 1970 and finished in June 1976, costing more than 1 billion RMB and
the lives of 64 Chinese workers. 10
In August 1986, at the opening ceremony of the tenth anniversary of the construction
of the TanZam railway, Zambia president Kenneth Kuanda said in his speech: “Our
heartfelt thanks to China that helped us in a hard time. TanZam railway has remarkably
accomplished its political mission, helping African frontline countries one after another to
achieve their liberation, the railway has also contributed to the South Africa's regional
preferential trade cooperation. ” 11
Apart from the TanZam railway, many other aid projects have been achieved by China
in Africa in the same period of time. Among them were Tanzania Stadium in 1970,
Somalia Theater and stadium respectively in 1967 and 1977, Sudan friendship building in
1976, Mauritania national health center in 1977, Benin Cotonou friendship stadium in
1977, Sierra Leone stadium in 1978, etc. Also many agricultural research centers have
been constructed and equipped by China in the same time frame.
During this period, there has been a rapid development of the trade between China and
Africa. In 1950, the trade between China and Africa was 1.2 million USD; in 1979 it was
3
817million USD. The trade was mainly between China and African aid beneficiary
countries .12
Actually, with the exception of Egypt, African countries had apparently very little if
nothing to export to China; the trade was then just reduced to the sole export of Chinese
products to African countries, many of these products that were donations.
Till 1970, China provided low interest and interest-free loans to African countries。A
large part of the loans included complete sets of equipment such as textile, food, machine
production, medical apparatus and instruments, electric power, raw material processing,
post and telecommunication machines, railway, highway, reservoirs and dams… etc basic
infrastructures.
The reform of the aid policy towards African countries in the 1980’s
In the mid 1970’s, China saw the end of the Cultural Revolution and then started the
internal economic reform with the China’s opening up to the outside world. This reform
influenced the China’s aid policy to the foreign countries but didn’t change the flow of
aid to Africa.
At the beginning of the 1980’s, the African countries economy situation became stern
with a single form of their economic structure. By the mid 80’s, the industrial economy
became very slow and even experienced negative growth. The utilization of capacity in
the African countries industries was lowered to 50% and severely influenced the
development of the economy. The structural adjustment program implemented by the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Africa rather than aiding African
countries, served only to worsen their economic crisis. The foreign loan total amounted to
39.6% of the total output value and represents 97% of the total exported. Africa was the
biggest debtor of the world and was facing the marginalization of the international
community. 13
China’s economic reform and the difficult situation of Africa drove China to readjust
its aid policy to Africa by diversifying the content and the form of its aid to these
countries.
Between December 1982 and January 1983, four years after the debut of China’s
economic reform, Chinese Primer Zhao Ziyang visited 11 African countries including
Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Guinea, Gabon, Zaire, Congo Brazzaville, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Tanzania and Kenya. It was the most important visit a Chinese Primer paid to Africa
since the visit of Primer Zhou in the 60’s. During this visit the Primer declared the four
new principles that would govern the technical economic development cooperation
between China and African countries. These principles are summarized as“equality and
mutual benefit, pursuing practical results, adopting various ways and seeking common
development.”14This declaration is said to be a new step after the declaration of the eight
principles that had been governing the aid policy as it emphasized more on the mutual
benefit in the economic domain and the various domains embodied in the technical
economic cooperation. The new step was said by the leaders of china and Africa to be
beneficial to their respective people.
The new reform that took a more realistic trend gave birth to many joint ventures of
China and the African countries. By 1989, there were 33 productive joint ventures set in
African countries under this aid policy.15
Among them, the TamZam railway that ran at a loss for many years, made profit after
4
Chinese experts joined the managerial teams in 1983 for three years consecutively. In
June 1987, the company had made a profit of 27 million USD. 16
Another example is that of the Mali pharmaceutical manufacturing factory that has
been running at a loss for many years despite the allowance from the government. In
October 1984, China sent 27 experts to join the company under the join venture
agreement with the country; the result of this cooperation was that the company started
making a profit of 1.3 million RMB Yuan every year. 17
This new form of aid to Africa was broadly appreciated by the African nations
concerned. About this ,the president Museveni of Uganda said : “Aid by itself cannot
change the society, only trade can promote durable economic increase and the
development of the society”.18Here, aid and trade were being combined before another
reform was made on the China’s aid policy to the African countries.
The new reform of the china’s aid policy to foreign countries in the mid-1990’s
In the beginning of the 90’s, the African nations suffered from the lack of international
aid due to the end of the cold war. The West and the East previously dealing with
different ideologies were no longer interested in Africa but in the Eastern European
countries. It was simply a marginalisation of African countries that have been going
through political and economic crisis. Faced with this situation, China continued
providing aid to Africa, but it wasn't until the mid-90’s did China reshape the aid policy
to foreign countries, especially to African nations to fit its own economic need and the
new international political trends.
In July and August 1995, the China’s Vice-primer, Zhu Rongji visited Tanzania,
Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. During his visit, he put forward
three propositions as a way to enlarge the mutual support, create a peaceful and stable
international climate; strengthen friendship and consultation, promote the improvement
of the international trade environment; promote mutual benefit cooperation, seek for
common prosperous development. The Vice-primer pointed out to enlarge the scale of
economic cooperation and the socio-economic effect of assistance projects between
African countries and China. China hopes to focus its small and medium aid projects on
countries in need but also especially with those countries with developmental resources.
The Chinese government urged and promoted the joint ventures and a cooperative
management between Chinese companies their African counterparts. According to
Vice-premier Zhu, companies should play a more important role in the trade between
China and African countries; the government will adopt measures such as governmental
loans, bank preferential loans...etc capital transfers and use different channels to develop
trade cooperation; contract projects, labour ...etc different ways to enlarge the sphere of
cooperation and seek for long term common development.19This was the beginning of a
new reform of China’s aid policy to African countries.
About the trade between China and Africa ,President Jiang Zemin during his state visit
to Africa in Mai 1996 said “China firmly supports the effort of African countries on their
economic development, will continue providing within its capacity no political attached
conditions aid; activate cooperation from both side through joint ventures…etc diverse
ways to develop vigorously the traditional aid projects of China to African countries;
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encourage the cooperation between Chinese and African enterprises, especially the
companies that have certain strong capability to develop different scales ,domains and
forms of cooperation with African partners. The Chinese companies when contracted a
project must respect the deadline, guarantee the quality, and重 义 （ the spirit of
brotherhood）and other principles ;broaden trade channels, increase the volume of
imports from Africa and promote the balance of China-Africa trade and rapid
development. ”20The statement of Jiang Zemin came to confirm and strengthen the one
by the Chinese Vice-primer. Both show the new orientation of the chinese cooperation
with African countries. From this time, there was no clear gap between aid and trade, but
rather a combination of them. China while providing assistance to African countries also
places emphasis on its own economic development need from Africa.
Actually, from 1993 China changed from being one of the largest oil exporters in Asia,
to one of its largest importers. With the rapid economic development of China, the natural
resources became of a crucial importance for the sustainable economic development of
the country. At this point no doubt, China became deeply concerned about which strategy
to use to assure its economic stability by finding reliable supplier of raw materials. On the
other side, African countries are known for their natural resources that have been
suffering from a lack of exploitation. As many African countries can only rely on the
export of these raw materials for their economic growth, these countries found that was a
big opportunity to let the exploitation and development of their natural resources be
handed over to China as both China and its African counterparts have enjoyed good
diplomatic relations since the 1950’s. From the early 1990’s China started importing oil
from Sudan, Angola, Nigeria, Algeria, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. The U.S. Energy
Information Administration says China accounted for 40 percent of total growth in global
demand for oil in the last four years; in 2003, it surpassed Japan as the world's
second-largest oil consumer, after the United States. In the first ten months of 2005,
Chinese official sources say, Chinese companies invested a total of 175 million USD in
African countries, primarily on oil exploration projects and infrastructure.21This oil trade
was of course accompanied by the assistance of China to the concerned African oil
suppliers. With integrated packages of aid that lead to business opportunities and market
share for Chinese companies. Economy says,“One of the interesting things about doing
business with China these days is that it's a full-on supplier. They will come in and
provide everything that surrounds the development of the country”. In Angola, which
currently exports 25 percent of its oil production to China, Beijing has secured a major
stake in future oil production with a 2 billion USD package of loans and aid that includes
funds for Chinese companies to build railroads, schools, roads, hospitals, bridges, and
offices; lay a fiber-optic network; and train Angolan telecommunications workers.
Economy says China is following a very traditional path established by Europe, Japan,
and the United States: offering poor countries comprehensive and exploitative trade deals
combined with aid. 22African countries apparently seem to be satisfied with China’s
trade accompanied by the aid packages. Both entities are also aware of the comments of
western countries that will see China as a new colonialist country in Africa that is used to
be in their sphere of influence .Then to strengthen Sino-Africa relations, China initiated a
China-Africa ministerial forum.
China-Africa cooperation forum and China’s assistance to African countries
6
The forum was initiated by China and has a historical meaning in the China-Africa
relations. The first forum was held in October 2000 in Beijing and is planned to be held
alternatively every three years in China and Africa. More than 80 ministers ,20
international and African regional organisations came from more than 40 different
African countries on the invitation from China. The forum ended with The Beijing
Declaration and the Program for China-Africa cooperation in economic and social
development, adopted by the forum and laid out the blueprint for future cooperation
between China and Africa ,determined the stable development of equality and mutual and
beneficial partnership between China and Africa and its orientation in the new century.
The main elements include: Continue to expand export and imports. On balance, trade
between China and Africa has witnessed a steady increase. In 1950, trade between them
was 1.2 million USD. In 1980, it stood at 1 billion USD. In 1999, the figure jumped to
6.5 billion USD. Last year (2004), trade between China and countries south of Sahara is
8.1 billion USD, an increase of 72% against the previous year. Of which, export by China
is 3.5 billion USD and import 4.6 billion USD, increased by 35% and 119% respectively
against the previous year. However, as there is still much to be expected, China is
determined to open our markets (Chinese market), remove tariff and non-tariff barriers
and create better market access conditions and to encourage Chinese enterprises to give
preference to African goods in its import with a view to a trade balance between China
and Africa.23
To promote the development of China-Africa social and economic cooperation, China
did four promises:
(1)To support African countries in their economic and social development, the Chinese
side undertakes to continue providing assistance to African countries, within its capacity,
in light of specific economic conditions of the recipient countries and within the
framework of South-South cooperation. This support will mainly take the form of aid
grants, concessional loans and interest-free loans to be mainly used in areas determined
by both sides.
(2) The Chinese side expresses its readiness to help relieve the debt burden of African
countries. In this connection, the Chinese side undertakes to reduce or cancel debt
amounting to 10 billion RMB Yuan owed by the heavily indebted poor countries and
least developed countries in Africa in the coming two years. The details will be discussed
through bilateral channels.
(3) The Chinese side will set aside special funds to support and encourage investment by
well-established Chinese enterprises in African countries to set up joint equity or
cooperation projects adapted to local needs in terms of job creation and transfer of
technologies.
(4) The Chinese side pledges to grant more scholarships to African students to study in
China, continue to send teachers to Africa to help local institutions of higher learning
improve their disciplines and specialties, and set up channels of communications between
universities of the two sides for the study of the Chinese and African civilizations; and
establish an African Human Resources Development Fund and gradually increase
financial contribution to the Fund for the training of professionals of different disciplines
for African countries. 24
Actually, from the 1950’s to 2005, around 15,000 African students have studied in
China since their countries became independent.25In 2003, during the second
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China-Africa forum in Addis Abeba in Ethiopia, China eventually released the debt of of
10.5 billion RMB to 31 African countries and implemented the African Human
Resources Development Fund as promised previously.
In the year 2000, in Beijing more than 40 agreements have been signed, doubling trade
to more than 20billion USD over the four years to the end of 2004. By the end of 2005,
China was expected to become Africa’s third most important trading partner, behind the
US and France and ahead of the UK. The 674 Chinese state companies involved in Africa
have invested not only in booming sectors such as mines, fishing, precious woods and
telecommunications, but also in others that the West has neglected, even abandoned, as
less profitable. As a result, Zambia’s Chambezi copper mines are being worked again and
supposedly exhausted oil reserves in Gabon are being explored. After the second China
-Africa forum held in Addis Abeba, in 2004 Chinese investments represented more than
900million USD of the 15billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Of
the thousands of projects under way, 500 are being exclusively directed by the China
Road and Bridge Corporation, a state enterprise, helping to place 43 Chinese companies
among the 225 global leaders in the area.26
By the aid of China to African countries through trade, China and African countries are
committed to the new development of cooperation. The bridge of aid that links China to
African countries is hard enough to resist to encounters. On the other hand ,western
countries are not willing to welcome China that is threatening their interest in the
continent. But China will do everything possible in the international political arena to
protect its growing interests in Africa.
China’s strategy to protect its interest in Africa
Since the mid 1950’s, China’s aid to African countries is not as subject to as many
conditions as western countries impose. Nevertheless, there are certain conditions on
which China wouldn’t provide aid : African countries that are to receive aid should
support the P.R.C. on its “one China policy”and should not have diplomatic ties with
Taiwan which China claims to be one of its provinces, thus is a domestic issue. If any
country attempts to establish “diplomatic” »ties with Taiwan, China will simply cut off
it’s assistance and consider that country to be its enemy. The Taiwan issue has long
been one of the leitmotiv of China’s assistance to Africa . But the P.R.C. will soften on
this condition as the Chinese companies have started exploiting the Chad oil before the
recent renewal of ties between the Chad Republic and China. In the new century, China
will then prioritize its domestic economic development to the Taiwan issue.
China’s attitude towards Sudan within the UN is another remarkable proof of China’s
commitment of protection of its interest. China first established a presence in the
unexploited Muglad oilfields of southern Sudan 11 years ago. Now it imports 50% of the
region’s crude oil, and 13 of the 15 most important foreign companies operating in Sudan
are Chinese, from the China National Petroleum Corporation to the Zhongyuan
Petroleum Corporation. The cynicism of the government in Beijing became apparent in
September 2004, when the UN Security Council passed resolution 1564, announcing an
embargo on arms sales to Sudan. China’s UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, used the
massacres in Darfur as a pretext for threatening to veto the resolution, before finally
abstaining. The US-proposed resolution had already been significantly watered down.
8
The incident is an indication of the strength of the ties linking the governments in Beijing
and Khartoum.27
China will reiterate its non-interference to African countries internal affairs. This
principle is warmly welcome by many African leaders that see the continuous
interference of western countries in their domestic affairs as a threat to maintain
themselves endlessly on power. He Wenping ,deputy director of the Department of
International Relations in the African Studies Section of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences in Beijing said : “Common sense about human rights and sovereignty is only
one of the common values shared by China and Africa.There is no doubt that China’s
success in Africa has partly benefited from it, and those common values have laid solid
foundations for further promoting bilateral relations in future.”28
Africa’s political support to China for aid
From the mid-1950’s African countries have been given political support to China in
the international political arena as reward for aid received from China. An example of
this can be seen in Africa’s outstanding support to China for its return to its legitimate
seat as a permanent member of the Security Council in the UN in 1971 through the UN
resolution 2758.The resolution gained the support of 26 African States (34% of the
General Assembly vote).
Within the human rights committee, many African countries will vote against western
countries, especially the United States whenever a resolution appears critizing China for
its defective human rights records. From 1989 to 2001 China successively defeated the
United States resolutions about human rights in China.29China could not have achieved
this result without the support of African nations within the UN.
African countries will also consider the rapid economic growth and the rise of China
as a big opportunity in Sino-African cooperation, especially in trade cooperation. It’s also
a source of hope for African countries to see a south country like China to be moving
from its traditional economic status to a better and more powerful one. They see China as
friendly in political and economic negotiations compared to the western countries that
will impose conditions to African countries, the conditions that these countries cannot
implement due to their different realities from the one of the West.
But even so, African countries for a very long time don’t seem to have a policy to the
P.R.C. except the demand of the Chinese assistance that all of them will simply make use
of . Since their independence, the trend is unilateral, China→Africa but not the reverse.
All the cooperative initiatives are mostly undertaken by China and simply followed by
African countries. That has been the case with all of the major reforms that have occurred
in the China’s aid policy to African nations until the early 1990’s when China began
importing oil from Africa. From this point, China began to place more of an emphasis on
it’s own development.
Furthermore, since the mid 90’s, due to various economic difficulties in African
countries, African students graduating from Chinese universities have found it
increasingly difficult to find full-time employment in their own countries. From the
African side, there is no longer a policy of management of the African human resources
9
of China after their studies. Many of them are employed by some of the most powerful
Chinese companies such as, HUAWEI and ZTE for the marketing of their products in
Africa and around the world; other recent African graduates from Chinese academic
institutions have been attracted by higher employment opportunities in Western countries
worsening the “brain-drain” effect on Africa’s development. Actually, in the new century,
there is a pressing need for African countries to make reforms on the management of
their human resources trained in China to take advantage of the Sino-Africa cooperation
that in recent times has gone from strength to strength.
The future of China’s assistance to Africa
In the next decade China will not stop the flow of its aid in the form of investments to
African nations, but China will be more and more demanding not only on the political
conditions but also the economic conditions of African countries under which aid will be
provided. The political ideology that sometime sustained the aid to Africa is now of
minor importance. The entry of China in the World Trade Organization in 2001 is proof
of China’s commitment to the capitalist way of doing business. While China is an “old
friend” of Africa, this“friendship ”has changed over the years. There is a pressing need
for African nations to make economic reforms in order to attract investments from China
from a more realistic vision.
African nations should avoid the trend of “blind conformity” policy to China. In the
beginning of September 2006, the President of Benin during his first official state visit to
China asked China to dispatch an oil exploration team to his country, no doubt motivated
by the China’s interest into resources and their exploitation.
Though it’s more likely that China will be more demanding before providing aid,
African nations are not ready to loosen their attachments to China and return to the
traditional western powers that haven’t seemed to soften their conditions in the coming
years despite the“threat”of China. “In May 2005, President Robert Mugabe--regarded as
a pariah by Europe and the United States—told the crowd celebrating twenty-five years
anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence:‘We have turned east, where the sun rises, and
given our back to the west, where the sun sets.’”30African nations will come closer and
closer to China and even get positively influenced by China learning Chinese know –how.
“Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Beijing, Sahr Johnny, was hosting a Chinese delegation
planning investments in hydroelectric power and agriculture. ‘The Chinese are doing
more than the G8 to make poverty history’he said,‘ If a G8 country had wanted to
rebuild the stadium, we’d still be holding meetings! The Chinese just come and do it.
They don’t hold meetings about environmental impact assessment, human right, bad
governance and good governance. I’m not saying they are right, just that Chinese
investment is succeeding because they don’t set high benchmark.’”.31From the African
nations’ side, the commitment of cooperation with China is deep enough for the future.
The stone bridge of Sino-African relations have a solid foundation, but it would be in
Africa’s interest to build new roads of cooperation with China before this “bridge of aid”
becomes too old.
10
Notes
1
《建国以来的毛泽东文稿》，第六册，中央文献出版社，1992 年，第 201 页。
2
“Mao Zedong on Diplomacy”, Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 1998, P.192, 193.
3
裴坚章：
《中华人民共和国外交史》
（第一卷）1949-1956，世界知识出版社，1998
年 9 月，289 页。
谢益显：
《中国外交史（中华人民共和国时期 1949-1979）
》，河南人民出版社，1998
年，第 239-240 页。
4
5
G. P. Despande and H.K. Gupta,“United Front against Imperialism :China’s foreign
Policy in Africa,Bombay,Somaiya”， Publications PVT.LTD, 1986, p.214.
6
The Five Principles are: 1.Support African and Arab people against imperialism, old
and neo colonialism; Support their struggle for national independence; 2 Support African
and Arab states pursuing a policy of peace, neutrality and nonalignment; 3.Support
African and Arab people who wish to realize their unification and unity in the way which
they those by themselves; 4. Support African and Arab states re solve their disputes
through peaceful consultation; 5.Advocate that the sovereignty of African and Arab states
should be respected by all countries, against the aggression and interfere from any
aspects.
The Eight Principles are: 1.Chinese government have persistently been providing
assistance to foreign countries according to the principle of equality and mutual benefit,
never regard the assistance as the grant by one sided. Chinese government maintains that
assistance should be mutual; 2. While providing foreign aid, Chinese government strictly
respects the sovereignty of recipient countries, no strings attached and no privilege
required; 3. In order to relief the burden of recipient countries, Chinese government
provides economic aids in the way of interest free or low interest loan, the time limit of
repayment could be delayed when it is needed;4.The purpose of Chinese government
providing foreign aid is not to make recipient countries being dependent on China, but to
help recipient countries gradually develop on the track of self reliance and economic
development independently; 5.For the projects constructed through China foreign aids,
Chinese government does its best to make quick effects through small investment Thus,
the governments of recipient countries could increase income and accumulate money; 6.
Chinese government provides equipment and materials made in China with the best
quality, and negotiate the price in accordance with the price of international market. If
the equipment and materials provided by Chinese government do not up to the negotiated
specifications and qualities, Chinese government guarantees to replace it;7. While
providing technical assistance, Chinese government assures to teach recipients to fully
master this kind of technology; 8.The experts who are dispatched by Chinese government
11
to help recipient countries carrying out construction, should be paid as same as their own
experts of recipient countries. They are required to not have any special requirement and
enjoyment.
7
《周恩来外交文选》，中央出版社，1990年5月，第388页。
8
G. P. Despande and H.K. Gupta, “United Front against Imperialism: China’s foreign
Policy in Africa,Bombay,Somaiya ”，Publications PVT.LTD, 1986, p.187,214.
9
10
11
12
Ibid,P.189,214
周伯苹著 :《非常时期的外交生涯》
，世界知识出版社，2004年，129页。
Ibid,p.129
《中非经贸发展五十年》www.fmpr.gov.cn/zflt/chn/zfjmhz/t155757.htm
中国国际关系学会主编《国际关系史（第十一卷）
》世界知识出版社，2004 年 5
月，326 页。
13
George T. YU “Africa in Chinese Foreign Policy””
http://www.jstor.org/view/00044687/di014464/01p01884/0
14
15
http://zhjyx.hfjy.net.cn/Resource/Book/Edu/JXCKS/TS010070/0016_ts010070.htm
16
http://www.xinhuanet.com/
17
Ibid
18
The Ethiopian Herald, 3 December2004.
19
China Daily, 26July1995.
20
China Daily, 14Mai 1996.
21
Esther Pan“ China, Africa, and Oil”, January 12, 2006,www.cfr.org/publication
22
Ibid
23
Yan Xuetong ,“China’s Policy Towards the Developing Countries”,
http://166.111.106.5/xi-suo/institute/english/production/yxt/2.htm
24
http://english.people.com.cn/english/200010/12/eng20001012_52452.html,12oct.2000
12
25
Jean-Christophe Servant ，MOSCOW AND BEIJING, ASIA’S ROARING
ECONOMIES ，“ China’s trade safari in Africa ”,
http://mondediplo.com/2005/05/11chinafrica
26
27
28
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
29
李铁城主编；《世纪之交的联合国》，人民出版社，2002 年 p.506，507。
30
Lindsey Hilsum ,“We love China”, GRANTA 92 ,Winter 2005，p.238.
31
Lindsey Hilsum ,“We love China”, GRANTA 92 ,Winter 2005,p.239.
13