Digging deeper

"When Western countries did this in the latter part of the 19th century they ended up running the countries, and I think this is the supposition that surrounds all of this," he says.

"There is an assumption that China is taking one step in the process of getting involved in the politics of Africa. There is, however, very little evidence of this. I just think it reflects on the West's own sense of vulnerability."

Humphreys believes that what really is happening is that China is moving away from going it alone and cutting its own deals in Africa.

"International mining is not a matter of putting a plate on the door and hiring a few people. Rio Tinto, which I used to work for, have always been an international company, and it is companies like these that have the expertise that China needs," he says.

"By harnessing on to these guys and taking a strategic shareholding, China gets the resources it wants but doesn't have to get strategically or politically involved," he adds.

Whether having resources is a bonus for Africa or, in fact, a curse is often debated.

Because of the commodities boom over the past decade, many African countries have experienced double-digit growth.

However, in a recent study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the share of manufacturing value added in Africa's GDP fell from 12.8 percent to 10.5 percent, indicating that its economy was actually going backwards.

During the same period MVA in Asia increased from 22 to 35 percent.

"What this means is that African economies are moving down the value chain and becoming more resource dependent. I find this deeply concerning," says Davies at Frontier Advisory.

China, however, is likely to need Africa's resources for a long time. It remains easier for it to import iron ore from many parts of Africa than mine it in western China and transport the resource to its coastal steel plants.

Humphreys at DaiEcon believes China will eventually reduce its own iron ore production from 300 million to 100 million tons and seek to bridge the gap by importing from Africa and elsewhere.

"When China was growing fast it couldn't get these raw materials, but now with all the concerns about environmental problems and pollution, it makes sense to do this. If it can buy raw materials cheaper than it can produce itself that is what it will do."

andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/08/2013 page1)