Why is China's growing role in Africa a concern?

The economic penetration and increased investments of China in Africa is not an uncommon global economic development phenomenon. Industrial revolution following World War II emerged and evolved through the practice and application of classical economic development models such as Ricardian comparative advantages and other neoclassical economic growth theories. The North benefited out of this. Now is the time for South to lift itself through new forms of economic developments. Times have changed and international trade terms are no longer perpetuated on comparative advantage models. Technology convergence has minimized products and services to commodities. The resultant globalization of operations by multinationals through off-shoring and outsourcing completely changed the international trade game.

Notwithstanding, Africa has a great deal to learn from history. The essence of the article - China's Growing Role in Africa - Myths and Facts - and from which i draw my views, lies in the statement that "...Africa has much to gain if it uses its leverage wisely...". The economic power of a superpower like China over Africa could have unintended policy consequences in the long-run. It is not a secret how the US muscles into Africa affairs as a result of self-serving interest in African resources due to the demand arising from the US or perhaps its reliance on resources from Africa. For starters, this is no different to what China is setting itself up for in Africa. Foreign policy is the first, among other key policies to surface weakened and compromised by such economic power by a single state. African leaders needs to take heed and calculated political decision for sustainable development of the continent and not be blindly jubilant to developmental partnership and support disguised as Foreign Direct Investments (FDI's). The latter is a sweet carrot to dangle.

The large chunk of China's investments in Africa is infrastructural. Economic development through infrastructure by its nature its political. As such, the politicization of infrastructure to spur economic development and growth is no misfit given the scarcity of national resources and protection thereof for societal development purposes. But one key drawback and a weakness that has bedeviled the political economy in Africa is corruption. Therefore, these investments are likely to benefit a few political elite given the nature in which they flow into the continent - history bears truth to this. For these investments to benefit the people of Africa, the virus of corruption needs to be sterilized and clamped down.

There is essentially nothing wrong with China investing in Africa, but the potential of China entrenching its sole position as the powerful investor and the only hope for Africa's growth should not blind African leaders and be coerced to trade resources at the expense of society.