The Bright Continent

So. China.

The People’s Republic has recently convened its annual National People’s Congress to outline a new economic agenda for the years ahead. Concerns about an overheating economy and a widening gap between rich and poor seem to have informed much of the conversation. Many watchers also noted that China has upped its defense spending by 12 percent—but has, of course, no intention of becoming a global military broker to challenge the US. But party leadership seems to understand the impossibility of avoiding the global spotlight, and economically as well as diplomatically is trying to be, well, nice. (This has nothing to do with being free.)

That said, I’m more interested in China’s aggressive courtship of African resources, businesses, and governments—which went mostly unmentioned. I’ve written in neutral-to-favorable voice about China in Africa before. Of course China is our planet’s biggest country with its most rapidly growing economy, and in the west there is increasingly a feeling that China is swiftly gobbling its lunch. 

Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe and longtime recipient of Chinese loans and guns, has said, “We have turned East, where the sun rises, and given our backs to the West, where the sun sets.” Oksy. But what does Chinese might mean to Africa—not in dollars or yuan or shillings but in sociocultural terms? The answer is still unclear. One hint came in the form of an op-ed by Jean Ping, Chairman of the African Union. Titled “China Gives Africa Hope” the essay unambiguously embraces the Chinese model for “development” as a template for the African continent.

Morgan Roach, an Africa Analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, makes some smart rebuttals. (Despite my domestic liberalism, I am a proud member of Heritage’s Africa Working Group.) She writes:

China is not an economic ideal to which African countries should aspire. The Chinese economy rests on a fragile foundation and lacks freedom. The Communist Party maintains tight authority over all economic decision making, undermining long-term productivity. The reform process that brought ordinary Chinese so many gains has been sacrificed in recent years for the sake of enriching the giant Chinese companies that now roam Africa. The Chinese economy remains mostly unfree.

Instead of using China as a model, African countries should look to vibrant peers that possess freer economies than China as formulas for meaningful economic development. According to The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, both Botswana and Mauritius are far freer economically than is China. Botswana, a country once dependent on its diamond industry, has achieved considerable growth through its sensible regulatory environment and openness to foreign investment. The small island nation of Mauritius has achieved extensive economic progress by limiting government intervention in a robust private sector. Both countries have achieved greater economic freedom than many countries in Europe (e.g., France and Greece).

Roach is right about the intra-African gaze—but I don’t know how African economic freedom arrives without the concerted oppositional engagement of the western private sector. As I outline in that 2008 piece on China in Africa, part of the reason regional governments eagerly accept unfavorable Chinese “resources for inrastructure” deals is the empty chair left by western institutions and businesses. Given the enormous potential and proven growth in emerging and frontier economies in Africa, it’s clear that showing up is worth one’s while. It’s also clear that if western companies are not at the table, it’s China that will keep enjoying lunch.