New African choices? The politics of Chinese engagement in Africa and the changing architecture of international develop

1. New African choices?The politics of Chinese engagement in Africa and the changing architecture of international development Giles Mohan (Open University) Marcus Power (University of Durham)

2. Outline • introduction • towards a postcolonial political economy of China in Africa • geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • the politics of class and race • democratisation, rights discourses & the contemporary politics of aid • conclusions

3. introduction • China as imperial power, an imperial relationship? • China as once a victim of colonial aggression • Sympathies and support for anti-colonialism in Africa • Neo-colonialism disguised as ‘south-south’ development? • “as if there were relationships between two countries instead of between one & fifty-three” (Chan, 2007: 2).

4. A post-colonial political economy of China in Africa • Simplistic, racialised readings of Sino-African relations • Journalistic and broad-brush coverage, exotica as hallmark • Lack of case studies, nuance, disaggregation and empirical detail • A surfeit of poor & tentative scholarship, not grounded in particular contexts or political economies • Media discourses and Orientalism • Constructed imaginaries of ‘Africa’ & ‘China’

5. A post-colonial political economy of China in Africa • China’s ‘scramble for Africa’, ‘African safari’, ‘resource grab’ • China as monolithic ‘beast’ (‘enter the dragon’) with insatiable appetite • Lack of sociological nuance in discussing the ‘Chinese’ in Africa • China’s corporate engagement with Africa & the ‘China inc.’ model often exaggerated • China as exceptional, as impervious to western logics of rationality, humanitarianism & ‘development’ • China’s ‘rogue aid’

6. A post-colonial political economy of China in Africa • Combinations of critical political economy and aspects of post-colonial theory • state-capital dynamics & class forces combined with deconstructive method & decentering of ‘the West’ • Changing class and racial dynamics of Chinese economic engagement • A genealogy of China’s historical engagement, a critical geopolitics of China’s enunciation of ‘development’

7. A post-colonial political economy of China in Africa • Decentring ‘western’ accounts of China in Africa, making space for other voices and perspectives • Deconstructing the official discourses of the Chinese state • multiple commonalities between the agendas & policies of ‘developed’ western states & those of China • Understanding less visible exchanges (commodity flows, education partnerships, creation of new political & economic elites)

8. Geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • 1950s, focus on Afro-Asian solidarity, shared history, common enemies, exporting revolution from China to ‘Africa’ • Rhetorical unity of ‘third world’ post-Bandung, focus on South-South co-operation for development, ‘camouflage tactics’ (Snow, 1995) • Cold war context, ideology & geopolitics, confrontation with the U.S (1950s/60s) & U.S.S.R (1960s/70s) • Non-alignment, neo-colonialism & China’s diplomatic offensive against hegemonism

9. Geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • Countering the international recognition of Taiwan, building a ‘third world alliance’ in Africa • Principles for aid and co-operation reflected China’s own experience as an aid recipient with ‘client’ status • Aid programmes aimed to ‘show up the North’ (Snow, 1995) • ‘Missionary’ like convictions of being morally ‘right’, production of distance from ‘western’ approaches • Preaching the gospels of nationalism & independence but African leaders knew little about China

10. Geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • Aid given as grant, strictly bilateral, Chinese aid workers did not “loll in hotel suites & run up expenses as other expatriates did” (Snow, 1995) • Aid as a means of exposing the limitations of China’s opponents, reluctance to co-ordinate with other donors • China happy to work on projects that were inessential monuments to the glory of African regimes they worked with • Tazara as a symbol of Afro-Asian solidarity

11. Geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • Ideological inflections of foreign policy diluted in favour of flexible, differentiated and proactive stance • Post-Mao focus on modernisation, access to foreign markets, capital & technology • Search for new commercial engagements that would strengthen the PRC economy • Post-Tiananmen re-evaluation of foreign policy, focus on access to energy resources, efforts to counter US hegemonism • China’s rhetoric of non-aligned, socialist ‘brotherhood’ remains but its geo-strategic interests have changed dramatically.

12. Geopolitical traditions and development co-operation • China’s renewed interest in Africa is not much different from those of the ‘Western’ powers, namely to advance the class power of its elites • Will China’s engagement with Africa radically alter Africa’s ‘extraverted’ relationship to the global economy? • Resource diplomacy, ‘soft power’ & support for China in multilateral agencies • Chinese aid provides leverage for African states in multi-polar world? • FOCAC meetings, China-Africa Development Fund, Trade and Economic co-operation zones in Africa, China’s Africa Strategy (2006)

13. The politics of class and race • Need to disaggregate the potential costs and benefits of Chinese trade and investment and how these are manifested in terms of wealth accumulation and class composition • Work exists on complementary and competitive relations between China and Africa • Some work on ethnic networks through which transnational enterprises operate

14. Class and race politics • Evidence that a Chinese merchant class has emerged in some countries • Beginning to organise is through organisations like chambers of commerce • Competition from China can increase African unemployment • May erode the support base of organised labour

15. New cultural politics • Chinese have always played an ‘intermediary’ role • Not ‘White’, but also ‘non-black’ • Race relations okay, but varies with impact on the local economy • In some cases local politicians have played the anti-China card

16. Democratisation, rights discourses and the contemporary politics of aid • Political effects will be conditioned by the nature of China’s interests, the modes of engagement, and the political systems operating in the African country concerned. • Most African leaders share an uncritical openness to China • Very little internal debate, either in China or African countries, about the efficacy and impacts of China’s Africa policy

17. The politics of aid • Chinese aid still predominantly bilateral despite commitment to aid coordination. • ‘Rights-based’ development become major ideological battleground • Tensions between bilateralism and multilateralism/pan-Africanism

18. Conclusions – emerging issues and methodological priorities • Greater involvement in capacity building and governance • Tentative multilateralism • Need for grounded research to appreciate context/difference • Need to hear more African voices in debates