A Chinese leader who inspires Africans

President Xi Jinping's term has been marked by surging trade and investment

The relationship between China and Africa has flourished remarkably over the past few years. More so since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012 under the leadership of Xi Jinping, who then became general secretary of the Party.

The policies of Xi, now China's president, calling for far reaching reforms in realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of China, as well as opening up of the country of some 1.4 billion people on deeper levels, have aroused both praise and criticism outside China.

Of course, in the recent past China has attracted a lot of international interest, given that everyone wants to know how reforms will affect the rest of the world. A case in point is the recent depreciation of its currency, the renminbi. The global interest in China also stems from Beijing's approach of advocating for socialism with Chinese characteristics, an approach the Communist Party leadership says is geared at confronting the challenges facing its people, economy and social reforms as well as modernization of the national governance system.

Xi has won admiration and support from the current crop of leaders in Africa, where China's presence has grown tremendously.

In 2013 alone, trade between China and Africa soared to $200 billion. A 44 percent rise in Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa was also realized. International trade between the United States and Africa stood at $85 billion in the same year. Over 1.5 million mutual visits were made between China and African countries in the same period. Trade relations have played a crucial role in ensuring sustained growth in economic ties.

Modern Sino-African relations can be traced to 1956, when China established diplomatic ties with Egypt. The first generation of PRC leaders that included Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping together with the African statesmen and leaders of the time welcomed the relationship.

Since then, the relationship has blossomed. Celebrating that fact, it is an unwritten rule that the first overseas state visit a Chinese foreign minister undertakes is usually to Africa.

Xi, in his maiden visit to Africa as president in 2013, said his predecessors together with African leadership had worked together to fight colonialism and imperialism as well as to win independence in the pursuit of development.

"China upholds justice and opposes the practice of the big bullying the small, the strong lording it over the weak, and the rich oppressing the poor, just as it opposes interference in others' internal affairs," Xi said. These are probably the remarks that endeared him most to African leaders present. They have in the past been given conditionality on governance, corruption and human rights from the West before aid, loans and grants were dispatched. That has been vehemently opposed by African leaders as it amounts to directly interfering with the sovereignty of African countries.

Xi made the remarks at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he met at least 14 African presidents and heads of state. Xi also visited the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.

His visit was followed by that of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Ethiopia, Djibouti, Senegal and Ghana last year. The trip coincided with that of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique and Ethiopia, a move pundits saw as a strategy not only to counter Japan's footprint in the continent but also to emphasize China's presence in Africa.

Over the years, China has had an upper hand in its quest to strengthen relations with Africa in terms of the nature of its visits. The simple reason is that Chinese delegations to Africa are more frequent, visit more countries, spend a longer time here and are usually much grand in scale.

In October 2013, Xi made a speech to the Indonesian Parliament and reaffirmed his vision of the establishment of the maritime Silk Road. He had earlier proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt in a speech delivered at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, in September the same year. Early voyages into Africa by Chinese traders had been during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese trader, docked along the coast of Somalia and Mozambique, bringing with him a fleet of ships and Chinese culture.

The route is expected to create an economic zone along key ports and maritime trade routes all the way from the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Some of the ports expected to be expanded include Tema, Ghana; Bizerte, Tunisia; Dakar, Senegal; Djibouti; Libreville, Gabon; Maputo, Mozambique; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Ports that already have been improved, in part to accommodate bigger Chinese vessels, include Kribi, Cameroon, and Mombasa in Kenya.

Under this vision China will invest more in Africa as Beijing is expected to partially or fully finance infrastructure projects including the building of airports, roads, railways and to upgrade existing ports.

Through these infrastructure projects, Chinese companies will have the opportunity to go global, and African countries will have the opportunity to accelerate their economic development. The plan is a long-term project that Beijing is determined to see happen. Currently, there are more than 1,000 Chinese companies undertaking infrastructure projects in Africa, a figure expected to rise with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

China over the years has also demonstrated its commitment to the growth of Africa by showing genuine support for African countries in their time of need. Last October, when Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were hit by the Ebola epidemic, China provided at least $121 million in aid for the West African countries affected. After the United Nations called for a more concerted global effort to fight the scourge, China dispatched an elite squad drawn from the People's Liberation Army to Liberia.

Africa has also played its part in helping China during its hour of need.

As all this is happening, China's economic growth has slowed. The average double-digit growth that it experienced between 1978 and 2013 has slowed to an average of 7 percent. At the annual National People's Congress in March, Premier Li Keqiang announced the government had lowered the country's annual growth target to 7 percent. Nevertheless, Sino-Africa cooperation remains at its all time highest and is no doubt stronger than the ties Africa has with the US.

The author is a professor of economics at the School of Economics, Kenyatta University. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/11/2015 page10)