Africa beyond Western politics

Over the weekend, Ghana detained 100 Chinese for "illegal" mining, the latest case of frictions caused by Chinese economic activities in Africa, amid Western media's China bashing on the continent. However, such incidents shouldn't be allowed to harm growing China-Africa ties.

China established trade and diplomatic ties with Africa way back in the 15th century. Chinese ambassador-cum-mariner Zheng He, who led many a trade and goodwill delegation to Southeast and South Asia, and Africa during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 ), was in the same league as Marco Polo, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus.

As Europe colonized Africa, China and other foreign trade powerhouses with ties with Africa slowly faded into the background, grappling with their own issues with the colonizers and would-be world dominators.