Discuss Chinas role in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Discuss Chinas role in Africa - Essay Example It comes after the United States and has overtaken the United Kingdom. The growing relationship between China and Africa has been highlighted in two different events. First it took place in November 2006 in Beijing where the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held. The Second one took place in May 2007 in Shanghai. This was known as the annual meeting of the African Development Bank (ADB). This came immediately after the official release of the white paper by Beijing in early 2006 titled China’s Africa policy. It contained the contours of the China’s official policies directed towards the African countries. During the two events, China announced its engagement with Africa. China also made public the relationship which it considers to have mutual benefits basis and that it results in a win -win situation. However, critics have argued that China is taking advantage of the African exports which consists of oil and different raw materials. In return the imports t o Africa consist of Chinese goods which are cheaply manufactured. In fact, critics associate this to the earlier colonial era. It is considered that China’s desire to help Africa stems from their objective of obtaining raw materials and different sources of energy in Africa. According to Dillon (2009), the major objective behind this trade is to improve China’s current economic growth and its new markets of export. The existing trade is of importance to various actors and different African economies. However, proper discussion concerning the consequences of this kind of trade should be put in place. The relations between some African countries and China are deeply developing. China’s successive foreign ministers have visited the African continent yearly in the past 20 years. This frequent high level of exchanges portrays how important the relation between China and Africa is to the Chinese government. China as a country treasure face to face communication especi ally with the African leaders because it enables individuals to have the deepest understanding. There is existence of mutual support between China and African countries on several issues both international and regionally. According to Gries and Rosen (2010), most African countries have been committed in supporting China in different issues. From Africa, China is able to obtain raw materials and in exchange, China offer Africa some full support in various issues including peace, development and trade. In addition, China supports Africa in UN Security Council discussions because it perceives different opinions of the African countries to be of great importance. First, China assists Africa in times of adversity. History helps people know of the past, foresee the future and understand the present. From history, Africa just like the People’s Republic of China has been excluded from the international community. However, China considers Africa its ally and has always come out to sup port some African countries to solve its problems such as war and piracy. This is because of many reasons. First, some African countries supported China to restore its seat at the UN Security Council, which was delayed up to 1971, even though it was a member state that founded the UN. Consequently, African countries voted along with China in the 26th UN general assembly regarding resolution on whether to award PRC or not with the China’