Seeing China with African eyes

Listening to president's words reinforces what I have seen, convincing me the nation has a lot to offer

The much talked about visit of President Xi Jinping to the United States has set new standards for future policy between the countries as 65 agreements were reached on such issues as bilateral trade agreements and security.

But one of the primary results of the visit was China's move to maintain its position as champion of the oppressed, with Xi promising to provide $2 billion to support South-South cooperation during his speech at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit.

Xi also pledged to exempt debt on outstanding intergovernmental, interest-free loans owed by the least-developed countries and due by the end of the year.

Xi's visit to the UN headquarters in New York City and his address at a South-South cooperation roundtable drew applause never received by any visiting head of state.

During his first speech at UN headquarters, Xi pledged to set up a $1 billion China-UN Peace and Development Fund to support UN multilateral cooperation and boost world peace.

China has the second largest economy in the world, which favors the development of others in a win-win situation across the world to spread development and address social needs and wants.

My visit to China has shown me that China does not want a world polarized by poverty, or a world of winners and losers, but one of equal opportunities that spread development.

Teng Jianqun, director of the Department for American Studies and a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, says developing countries' time has arrived. China is showing them that with cooperation, development can be achieved.

Teng says China has never forgotten the role of African countries in helping elevate China to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

"African countries literally carried China to become a member of the Security Council. China has emerged as a land of peace, looking for opportunities to promote peaceful relations and mutual trust," he says.

Teng told foreign journalists in Beijing that Xi's visit to the United States was to seek a peaceful resolution of issues pending between them while still maintaining China's positions on issues of importance to the nation.

The visit also was significant in terms of Xi's support for UN operations to maintain world peace. Xi said China would take the initiative in forming a police peacekeeping team and building a peacekeeping force of 8,000. China also will provide $100 million in aid to the African Union to support an African standby force and emergency response forces.

The pledges will help in ensuring peace in over 65 trouble spots in the world. China pays its pledges on time, and also is the largest contributor to peacekeeping operations.

As Xi told UN members, China is ready to shoulder more international responsibilities, even as the world awaits the emergence of a new China.

The question now is where will African countries be located in this new drive by China to create a more just world of opportunities?

Experts say the fear of a large chunk of African countries being left behind in development issues is real unless most show seriousness in addressing opportunities.

They suggest that China's offer of an opportunity to widen Africa's trade partners should be seen as better than neocolonialism and economic backwardness.

For an African living in China, there are lots of things that can change your horizons and your mindset as you think of the way forward for Africa's development. China is not a developed nation yet, but already is thinking like one, putting in place things that can project future growth.

My visit to China has opened my eyes to things that make the nation tick, things African leaders should learn from. China's body language suggests that the doors are open for business with any country, including African countries, provided such partners are ready to put in place structures that support modern business.

The world largely ignored China before the opening-up of its economy, which emerged as the second largest, just behind the US, in a short space of time.

Earlier, nobody wanted to buy Chinese products, even in Africa, but today China dominates in many areas, be it telecommunications, equipment manufacturing or heavy machines. Also China now is the destination of the world for business and commerce.

It was not by accident. It took the effort of great thinkers, committed policy planners, people with vision who could see the future and plug into it.

Xi has shown strong leadership and commitment and has insisted on an innovation-driven economy.

As the world salutes China's emergence, pockets of critics and noisy commentators from the West and their supporters have remained no more than a distraction. China has taken its rightful place in the affairs of the world and will do anything and everything to maintain its position.

Africa has remained for several years in the mind of China, and China has entered into a new win-win relationship with Africa as it is doing with Asian countries. In many ways China has reduced bottlenecks in doing business with African countries.

But China's policy planners insist that standard practice must be followed and structures put in place to guarantee investment.

In Africa there are lots of lessons to be learnt from China, starting with its experience over the years. African leaders need to put their right foot forward and seek knowledge from China as a dependable friend.

One of China's strong points is consistency in policies for development with correct projections and planning for the future.

China believes that issues of development should not be tackled ad hoc as is done in many African countries, but planned ahead and taken with correct decisions.

In China, the central government is controlled by the Communist Party, with the incorporation of minority groups whose views must be considered.

The Chinese government has the support of the majority of the people. This is so because the governance is delivering good dividends. Democracy must evolve from the people; it must guarantee good governance and make the people happy.

In the majority of African countries this is absent. Good governance is far away. No wonder there is hunger and want. There is poverty and unemployment in the land, and youths are crossing the Mediterranean Sea to escape, with many perishing with their dreams in the process.

African leaders must wake up to the new reality, not business as usual, or be ready to face the huge consequences ahead. These are avoidable through careful planning and there is a need to follow China's example in our development model.

The author is head of foreign operations for the News Agency of Nigeria. He is on a 10-month scholarship with the China-Africa Press Center in Beijing. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/01/2015 page15)