Day: February 2, 2022

ABUJA, NIGERIA —

A Chinese official in Nigeria says Beijing plans to invest over $300 billion in Africa to increase African exports and help close the large trade gap with China. China's plans for more investment in Africa have been welcomed by some, but critics worry about Africa's growing debt with Beijing.

The recent signing of a multi-billion-dollar partnership between China and Africa marks a major step in China’s effort to spend more money in Africa in nine industrial sectors, including trade, digital innovation, medical, poverty reduction, culture and peace and security.

A Chinese official, China Africa Business Council head Diana Chen, signed a memorandum of understanding with Lagos Chamber of Commerce officials last week in Lagos.

Chen said the $300 billion will be invested in Africa over the next three years.

Many experts welcome the development and say it could increase the local manufacturing and export capacity of indigenous Nigerian and African brands.

Charles Onunaiji is the director of the Center for China Studies in Abuja.

"It's not just in Lagos, it's been holding across Africa. There have been discussions of the new opportunities of China-Africa cooperation. The Lagos meeting was one of the follow-ups on that very important meeting in Dakar, where the Chinese president offered nine programs to drive China-Africa cooperation to the next level. For me, this is a very important landmark in China-Africa cooperation," he said.

China is Africa's biggest trading partner, with over $30 billion in trade volume, surpassing the United States and Europe. Nigeria is one of China’s largest trading partners in Africa.

Onunaiji said the new partnership is expected to improve Africa's trade with China, which analysts say is lopsided.

"China is responding to some of these concerns by giving more opportunities to Africa to access her market. And in my view, this particular proposal to import from Africa $300 billion worth of goods in three years is a game changer," he said.

Chinese officials say the new partnership will see China establish special economic zones to accept more imports from Africa.

The president of the Nigeria Private Sector Alliance, Adetokunbo Kayode, said he worries the new partnership could further deepen Africa’s debt with China.

"Many African countries have sleep-walked into the debt trap. They're already there, and it's very obvious, because the facilities they've taken from several countries, including China, is such that they do not have the wherewithal to pay back. Secondly, the contracts are end to end," he said.

Kayode said even though Bejing is investing heavily in Africa, Africans are not often part of the execution, creating a knowledge gap.

Experts say the success of the Chinese partnership will be dependent on favorable trade policies that will be drafted among China and African countries.

But Kayode has this to say, "What is our trade policy with China? In spite of my maybe fairly advantaged position in Nigeria, I've not seen any clear document showing the nitty gritty of Nigeria's trade policy with China. I've not seen specific policies on areas like, for instance, how you drive the local contents of this multibillion-dollar contract."

Since 2018, Chinese authorities began hosting the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha City in the central China province with the stated aim of exposing African products to the Chinese market.

While more African businesses may try to meet a more welcoming Chinese market for their products, many will be watching to see how the new partnership changes the status quo.

Source: Voice of America

MUTOKO, ZIMBABWE —

Villagers in Zimbabwe say a Chinese mining company has told them they will have to leave their homes to make way for a granite quarry. The company denies plans to forcibly move the villagers, but a lack of transparency has many fearing they will be pushed out of their ancestral land.

Some villagers in Zimbabwe’s Mutoko District say they are not sure what the future holds now that Chinese companies such as Jinding Mining are exploring quarry mining in the region.

Most are reluctant to even talk about it, for fear of retaliation.

But this 42-year-old farmer, who asked that his name be withheld, is eager to speak out about the company’s plan to mine an area that stretches across 180 hectares and includes some of their homes.

The area they want is where we live and where our cattle graze. It’s our source of income. We wonder where we will go, the area they want is too huge. Our ancestors' graves are there, too. We wonder where they will relocate them,” said the farmer.

Activists say more than 50 families could be forced out by one mining company alone.

Richard Ncube of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association said his group plans to ask the courts to prevent the eviction of villagers.

“ln order to help the communities, we are raising awareness on environmental issues. We are researching on these issues in order to inform legal reform and then we take matters to court as a last resort to have their remedies addressed or issues addressed,” he said.

An environmental impact report by Jinding Mining has addressed the concerns of villagers, said Amkela Sidange from Zimbabwe’s Environmental Management Agency.

“What we only do as the agency is to take the project that is brought by the project owner, we go through it, we verify whether what is being indicated in the report that consultations were done, were really done. We actually go to the ground and triangulate to check if what is in the report is what actually took place on the ground,” said Sidange.

The farmer who spoke to VOA said the Jinding company asked no ordinary people about their concerns over the mining project, only the local leaders.

Officials at Jinding and the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe were not available to comment.

In a statement, the embassy said Chinese investors in Zimbabwe are working for the betterment of the country.

Source: Voice of America