IMPERIALISM OR DEVELOPMENT

Imperialism or Development: Analysis of the activities of China in Africa



Imperialism or Development: Analysis of the activities of China in Africa

Introduction

At the most recent World Social Forum that was held in Nairobi, Kenya in the start of year 2007, the presence of China in Africa and a versatile array of associated socioeconomic allusion constantly cropped up in dialogues regarding the issues of development on the Continent. The insatiable appetite of the China for raw materials, which has been accredited to its gigantic development of economy, requests the queries of whether China is disposing of Africa in the same way that imperialist powers of the West did in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In this essay, there will a discussion about the presence of China in Africa to see if it is development or imperialism; the analysis of Chris Alden and other scholars on China's presence in Africa and impact of it on development; either the development was in terms of economic or colonialism; and the win-win condition in bi-lateral trade.

Discussion

On the other hand, some observers claim that the increased presence of China is a spur that may assist emancipating Africa from strict and firm controls of the West such as the adjustments of structure that was described by various observers as the measures of straitjacket that locked the overall Continent into a non-colonial association and made development either a theoretical concept or a mere impossibility (Fourie, 2010, p. 18).

The increased presence of China in African continent was a wide-ranging effort that created a globalisation paradigm for favouring China. In the historical presence of China in Africa is an object of Imperialism of Europe and its commitment to the ideology to the national liberation and anti-imperialism. The declared principles of China regarding non-interference in domestic affairs and respect for national autonomy appealed not just as distinction with the suspected motives of previous powers of colonies, but for reasons that are less eminent to rulers who were threatened with domestic dissent. But, currently the policy of China has altered from the ideology of Cold War to a more conventional quest of economic self0-interest in the type of right to use raw materials, markets, military and trade assistance, and spheres of power through investment to the spot where China may be supposed to pursue the goals of any orthodox imperialist (Le Pere, 2006, n.d).

As per the thorough review of the Chris Alden's China in Africa, (2007, London: Zed Books), p. 254, it has been analysed that China is in the middle of a outstanding economic expansion, but majority of the sustained economic development is founded on the accessibility of raw materials and energy resources. Since the era of 1999, China has assertively tapped the countries of African Continent for meeting the needs with available resources. Private and state firms of China are dynamic in Africa to exploit the hardwoods, mining minerals, pumping oil, investing in schools and hospitals, and rebuilding ...