RECIPROCITY: TOWARDS A SHARED FUTURE AND DESTINY, A JUST AND IDEAL SINO-AFRICA DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION MODEL

By Shebora Samba Kamara
Nov. 2018
Unlike relations with the west that are mostly underlined by certain ‘Africa Vulnerable Preconditioning’ as some Pan-Africanists will brand it, Africa’s relationship with China has lasted for a considerable number of decades and still flourishing basically with an understanding that, Bilateral or Multilateral Relations could best thrive where there are mutual efforts and gains. Both China and Africa with a target of achieving a Shared Future. Sino-Africa relations do not out rightly ascribe an underdog role to either party even though Africa is at the receiving end when it has to do with aid connected aspects of the relationship, but beyond that, both Economic and Diplomatic Relations have steadily been Mutual, at least with no bogus Preconditioning that will subject Africa to unwarranted interference into its Domestic policies and Politics.
A Struggling but rising Africa no longer need ‘feel-good aid driven’ development or diplomatic relations, that seeks to subdue the sovereignty of its states as characterised by a model the continent endured for so long with Western Powers that invaded, scrambled and partitioned the continent in various crown colonies and protectorates. As it moves towards achieving ‘Agenda 2063’, which is an all-encompassing framework adopted by The African Union, it is suggestive by all indication that, Africa is no longer willing, in fact has never been willing to be victim of hegemonic power struggle.
A just and ideal type of development cooperation model in the resource rich region is one that have as its foundation, balanced cooperation with no strings attached, which is the model of China-Africa cooperation in a form of “Reciprocity”. Affirming this, in his opinion piece on which model of development that is ideal for Africa, Francis Onditi attempts to assess and justify an embracement of a new progressive model of reciprocity which is Chinese-led as opposed to the usual western-led aid handouts model. African Leaders are a lot more comfortable with such type of relations.
Such a relationship has been positive to a point that it drew admiration from not just Pan-African Analysts but even Leaders from the developing world. one of Africa’s most controversial leaders, Robert Mugabe, the former President of Zimbabwe endorsed such relations and showered praises on Chinese President, Xi Jinping in December, 2015, when he attended a FOCAC Summit Hosted in Africa, where he suggested China and its President is doing what Colonial Masters failed to do, noting “here is a man representing a country once called poor, a country which was never our colonizer. He is doing to us what we expected those who colonized us yesterday to do…we will say he is a God sent,”
Even though far apart, the two share a common history of oppression but in diverse ways, Victims of Western Media propaganda, both with a spirit of rebuilding and rejuvenating towards their dreams, Sino-Africa relations are increasingly improving guided with the principle of a win-win cooperation encompassing “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits” towards a common future/shared destiny.
Two memorable structures will always be resounding in the long Africa-China relationship “China’s Membership in the UN Security Council” as Admore Mupoki Kambudzi wrote in an article titled Africa and China’s Non-interference Policy: Towards peace Enhancement in Africa, noted that “A step further in building bilateral relations came when China campaigned to secure a permanent seat on the UN security Council, Africa and China have continued , on an incremental basis, to unify their voices on global issues”, in return China facilitated the  Construction of a huge office and conference facility of The African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia officially opened in January, 2012 in the AU’s 18th ordinary session is another binding element to this relationship.
Sino-African relations especially economic related have lasted for a number of decades and are still flourishing, but contemporary new relations are basically characterised by friendly diplomatic, cultural and large-scale cooperative structural projects that seeks to improve Africa’s deplorable infrastructure; roads, air and sea ports, railroads, bridges and dams, and China earning resources for its growing consumption and an open market for its large manufacturing industries. This relationship has been sending a signal of reciprocity by leaders of the highest concentration of developing countries (Africa) and those of the largest developing country in the world (The People’s Republic of China).
 But is this a new path for ‘Neo-colonialism’ set to besiege once again the resource rich region that suffered for decades in the hands of Western imperialists? Or is it another form of ‘organised hypocrisy’? or what will be the fate of this relationship if China emerges as a global hegemony? These are key concerns that keeps surfacing, as certain critics keep referring to Africa as the underdogs in such a relationship that is said to seek each other’s interest and eventually becoming mutually beneficial.
In a bid to consolidate such relations, China and Africa co-establish the Forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC) which a CGTN report in September, 2018 before the year’s (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, indicates that the forum has grown gradually from a series of small steps mainly focused on aid, trade, debt relief and personal training to a compressive platform that covers industrialization, agricultural modernization, finance, green development, people-to-people and security.
Being one sort Africa Human Resource of such a relationship that have glanced a number of Chinese cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Changchun, Nanjing, or Guangzhou are such hubs of the abundance that China possesses or developing that will eventually be beneficial not just to Africa but the world at large, whether it is Rich cultural/historical heritage, whether it is commerce/business, High tech, auto mobile, Educational advancements, or politics are such components and values which China wishes to share with Africa and the world, and having also taken a glance at African countries as Liberia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sierra Leone, and have heard, read and keep following the development strides of very many others as Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, DRC, South Africa etc, I could affirm Africa is still an embodiment of huge Human Resources, Natural and the purest reserves of mineral resources which the world during conflict periods whether it is civil wars, Political instabilities, Apartheid, disasters etc or slavery and colonial periods, harvested with impunity , but now with such relations Africa is willing to justly release for reciprocal benefits.
In their article, China’s evolving policy towards peace and security in Africa: constructing a new paradigm for peace building? Chris Alden and Dan Large noted “China’s expanding interests in Africa, underscored by burgeoning two-way trade of over US$166.3bn in 2011 and high level bilateral and multi-lateral diplomatic engagement…”. According to an internet anonymous article, it is noted that China surpassed the US in 2009 to become the largest trading partner of Africa, as China and over 40 African Countries have signed bilateral trade agreement and as of 2014 China-Africa trade amounted to US$220bn. Contemporary global circumstances, events and resulting outcomes calls for honest and strategic cooperation of all stakeholders and key players in the international political arena, this has the enormous potential to yield positive results of a stable and cooperative world order that will create a serene atmosphere for states to thrive and reach their full potentials in all aspects of development. But extending an olive branch in a path to achieving end results of imperial expansion, exerting political influence on a sovereign state, neo-colonialism or unjust trade conditionality that will render one party vulnerable will not create space for positive international relations to thrive.
With a set target, Chinese transformation and civilization has been characterized by self-stable and peaceful rise and contemporarily pushing multilateralism in a bid to archive a Multipolar global order. This path One of Africa’s leading Legal practitioners Kenya’s Prof. P.L.O Lumumba noted in one of his resounding public Lectures in The University of Dar es salam in Tanzania on the 15th of June, 2015 noting that China was known as a poor country few decades ago but because they know what they want they are speedily growing and Africa should follow up. But significantly there have been series of assurances of a Reciprocal and mutual beneficial China-Africa relations. But as the imperfection theory have it “there is no perfection in humanity” and the notion of no matter how useless one can be he/she must be useful somehow, sometimes. This is evident in the western shaped and guided system of political governance “Democracy” that many African countries have enjoyed since gaining independence, encompassing respect for human rights, Freedoms, rule of law etc not necessarily a guarantee for growth in anyways but the assurance that procedures must be followed no matter the circumstances, as opposed to the Communist Socialist model of China, which I refer to as “The Chinese version of Democracy” because it also has procedures to follow but gives so much power to the communist party of China (CPC). But with clear demarcations to the framework of the cooperation, someone can confidently predict there will not be conflicting processes and circumstances.
As In his historic speech during the opening ceremony of the belt and Road forum for International cooperation in Beijing on May 14,2017, The President of China Xi Jinping reaffirmed that “We are ready to share practices of development with other countries, but we have no intentions to interfere in other countries internal affairs, export our own social system and model of development or impose our own will on others…” this is at least reassuring of the Reciprocity of bilateral and multilateral ties China is having with other countries or Regions especially Africa without interfering with the internal dynamics of other countries.
A type of relationship approach that seeks to cooperate for mutually beneficial outcomes is practically ideal for any state or regional block that wishes to establish links in all development trajectories, with this any international relations scholar will presume if fully implemented, without any hidden agenda that will eventually affirm the concerns of pessimists of suspecting “Organised Hypocrisy” will necessarily and expectantly lead China and Africa to the dream future of a shared destiny.
Considering the growing influence of The People’s Republic of China in diverse perspectives but most importantly it steadily booming economy, becoming the second largest economy in the world with an estimated nominal GDP of US$14.092 trillion, its Technological advancements ,its huge cultural reserves etc are reassuring elements of proofs that in the not too distant future China will become if not the most, but one of the most influential players in an increasingly changing American-led world order.
This is one reason some Pan-African scholars and Western scholars are of the opinion that the projection of China to Africa is not necessarily because the Chinese are nice, but rather a new form of Neo-colonialism and imperialism to a long supressed region. As in other regions certain leaders and key stakeholders have out rightly spoke down relations and Chinese aid as a form of ‘debt diplomacy’.  In his inauguration speech in November 17, 2018, the President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih claimed that “…China’s investment in the Maldives has significantly increased the country’s debt and that its state treasury has been ransacked by China”. If it is actually meant to be, the ideal development cooperation model Africa needs with China or any other country or region is that of an equally beneficial, balanced and reciprocal relationship. But the enduring questions remains “Is the projection of China to Africa genuine? Is it a Neo-colonial project? Is it to make Africa a victim of Hegemonic power struggle? And finally, what will happen to the relationship if The rising China becomes a Ruling global power?


References

Onditi, Francis. 2018. China’s reciprocal model or western aid handouts, which way for Africa? School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Riara University. See CGTN. Beijing ICP No. 16065310-3
Mugabe, Robert.  2015. President of Zimbabwe, speaking in a FOCAC Summit hosted in South Africa.
Admore Mupoki Kambudzi. October 2012. Africa and China’s Non-interference Policy: Towards peace Enhancement in Africa. Think Tanks Forum. Bishoftu, Ethiopia.
China Global Television Network(CGTN). September, 2018. A report of the FOCAC summit hosted in Beijing, China.
Chris, Alden. Dan, Large. May 7, 2014. China’s evolving policy towards peace and security in Africa: constructing a new paradigm for peace building? See also https://www.palgrave.com
Lumumba, Patrice .L.O. June, 2015. Public Lecture in The University of Dar es Salam, The United Republic of Tanzania.
President Xi Jinping. May 14, 2017. Address during the opening ceremony of the belt and Road forum for International cooperation, Beijing. China.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. November, 17, 2018. In his Inauguration Speech as President of The Maldives.