Africa: When will the West ever learn?
A global aid meeting in South Korea this week has highlighted China's role as an emerging donor, but some Western media outlets are using the meeting to criticize China-Africa relations again, saying China "has developed close ties" with African countries to seek natural resources in exchange of aid.
China-bashing is neither new nor rare. In recent years, the strengthening of relations between China and African countries has become an important geopolitical issue. In June, for instance, Clinton accused China of "colonizing Africa" after attending the US' own trade and economic strategy with Africa, called the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Clinton's sentiments reflect a measure of the US' frustration after being outpaced by China in Africa on nearly all fronts. For instance, between 2000 and 2010, the trade volume between China and Africa grew more than 1,000 percent, making China not only to overtake both the European Union and the US , but also to become the most important trading partner of Africa.