Exploitation dressed in a suit, shining shoes, and carrying a suitcase full of dollars: What does China want in Africa?

• Author: Victor Mlambo
• Date: 01 February 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1892
• Published date: 01 February 2019

ACADEMIC PAPER

Exploitation dressed in a suit, shining shoes, and carrying a

suitcase full of dollars: What does China want in Africa?

Victor Mlambo

Department of Public Administration,

University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South

Africa

Correspondence

Victor Mlambo, Department of Public

Administration, University of Zululand,

KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa.

Email: halavico@yahoo.com

China has provided billions of dollars in loans to African countries with no strings

attached compared with Western financial aid. Although the argument that China is

exploiting Africa for its resources has often clouded Beijing's continued support for

Africa, many African leaders have welcomed China's economic assistance and have

begun to see China as a more reliable partner compared with the West. By strictly

examining relevant literature on Sino–African relations, this study comprehensively

explores the dynamics, implications, and benefits of Chinese investments in Africa.

Whether China is indeed exploiting Africa, which will continue to be debated, it is

clear that Chinese investments have contributed significantly to the development of

Africa and will continue to do so as the West has been replaced by Beijing as Africa's

biggest trading partner. African countries are therefore likely to continue strengthen-

ing their relationship with China further jeopardising the interests of West in the

continent.

1|INTRODUCTION

It is evident that developing countries have technological difficulties

processing their own natural resources. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil

producer with an estimated 2.5 million barrels produced every day,

yet most companies operating in the oil‐rich Niger Delta are foreign

multinational companies although South Africa is known as a huge

gold producer, yet the country exports most of its gold because it

lacks the processing technology. The Democratic Republic of Congo

and Zambia have been identified as the biggest producers of copper

in Africa, yet most companies operating in the copper industry in these

countries are multinational corporations that extract and ship the cop-

per overseas for processing. Over the years, many countries have

pledged to help African develop the technology and infrastructure

needed to allow African countries process their natural resources.

China is one of those countries and has increased its support for

African countries through interest‐free loans and investments in

Africa's financial, automobile, mining, and telecommunication sectors

over the past 2 decades.

Although it is evident that Chinese investments in Africa have to

some extent contributed effectively to the continent's socio‐economic

development, some critics have also said that China's pivot to Africa is

merely a geopolitical strategy to counterbalance United States

influence and dominance. Whether Chinese investments in Africa

have truly aided African development, the rapid increase in Chinese

investments in Africa has nonetheless been praised by African leaders;

hence, the rationale for his paper is to understand motives of China's

increasing pivot and whether this in the long run would be beneficial

for Africa's development or rather it further compounds Africa's

socio‐economic development.

2|METHODOLOGY

This qualitative study relied extensively on secondary data and

employed strict textual analysis of the relevant literature. The purpose

of this approach was to contextualise the perceptions of Africans on

the benefits or otherwise of increasing Chinese investments. The

study also sought to determine whether allegations of exploitation

were based on facts or simply part political rhetoric.

There are many studies on the motives of Chinese investments in

Africa. And as secondary sources, these studies are helpful in the

study of phenomena in its holistic form. Moreover, Gratton and Jones

(2010) argue that there are always gaps and loopholes in the existing

literature on specific topics such that re‐examining the literature

is often helpful. They also argue that using secondary sources can

Received: 8 October 2018 Accepted: 13 October 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1892

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1892.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1892

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of9