China in Africa: Aid to the development or neocolonialism?

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse China’s influence in Africa through its official direct aid and other investment and its political, environmental, social and economic consequences at several levels. Indeed, like any other aid-giving and investing country, China has several interests beyond the economic development of receiving countries. As Africa is a former European-colonized continent (mainly by France and the UK), it is relevant to study the nature and the extent of this new foreign interference and the remaining place for old western power. Further to that, China’s influence in Africa will be compared to other historic or modern interference. An analysis of China’s investments in Africa is therefore needed to understand its real impact on the continent and weigh the costs and benefits. This analysis will be qualitative and quantitative to a certain extent as data is protected by the Chinese government and not always reliable. For instance, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China discloses bilateral trade flows between China and Africa but remains rather vague when it comes to aid. One of our key objectives will be to break down financial flows from China to Africa. In doing so, we will try to answer several questions: what are the effects of Chinese aid and investment on the receiving country’s economic growth? Are Chinese financial flows undermining the aid and investment sent by historical players (international organizations, western countries)? What are the social and environmental consequences of these investments? Finding reliable sources will be a key point. To do so, we will in a first section identify and break down Chinese financial flows to Africa (I). Then we will in a second section analyse the economic, social and environmental consequences for African countries (II). Our study will focus on 9 major countries: Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Sudan. Those countries have been chosen for several reasons. North African and most of the Western African countries have weak links with China and are still under the influence of many Western actors (private companies and States). Furthermore, those 9 countries show different types of Africa-China relationships: “Robust