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Africa’s solution to Asian interests
Xinhua | NATION Chinese employees of China Wuyi Company Limited working on the Thika Road superhighway show local workers how to fix steel bars at a construction site. For Africa to manage increased investment from China and India, the continent must ensure relations with these countries meet its long-term economic objectives.
Posted Saturday, September 3 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- Foreign policy that focuses relations with China and India on issues such as infrastructure, skills transfer and market access will ensure the continent develops enough to become a global economic actor
‘Land grabs’
Many of the deals have been aptly referred to as “land grabs”. Many others represent foreign direct investments that attract technology, build local expertise, foster food security, generate foreign revenue and create employment. Good practices that advance the latter will help improve the image of China and India in Africa.
Africa is relating to China and India separately through summit diplomacy. This is normal in the early stages of such arrangements.
The time has come to explore the prospects of convening Africa-China-India tripartite consultations. This might also help diminish the perception that China and India are competing for Africa’s resources and create a transparent platform for economic diplomacy.
Calestous Juma is professor of international development at Harvard University. This article was first published on the website of CNN’s weekly business programme, CNN Marketplace Africa. He is the author of The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa which can be downloaded free on the linkhttp://ksgexecprogram.harvard.edu/features/agin.aspx
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