China's making deals with devils in Africa

By Llewellyn King
knight ridder tribune
WASHINGTON -- When it comes to China's extraordinary grab for the natural wealth of Africa, the Chinese keep their eyes on the prize. No hand is too bloody to shake. No genocidal lunatic too awful for an embrace. And nobody will be turned down when they order, with special credit facilities, weapons for oppressing civilian populations.
China is securing the wealth of Africa for itself from Sudan to Zimbabwe, with tentacles reaching into South Africa. A plethora of heads of failed states could not be happier.
Never has one country set out to secure the treasure and allegiance of a whole continent in the way that China is now doing in Africa. You would have to look back to the British takeover of the subcontinent of India for such blatant commercial imperialism.
The scale and the speed of the Chinese penetration of Africa is overwhelming. To secure oil from Nigeria, the Chinese make noises about Nigeria getting a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Likewise, China refuses to condemn Sudan for the genocide in Darfur.
The Chinese policy is one of hear-no-evil, see-no-evil so long as they have access to the resources that they want.
A case in point is China's enthusiasm for Robert Mugabe, who has brought Zimbabwe to ruin and is feted by Beijing and in laudatory statements in Africa. Mugabe may be one of the worst rulers Africa has seen, but Beijing coddles him. The Chinese have provided him with a new air force, tools for censoring the Internet and financial support.
Mineral wealth
To the north, where Western companies have abandoned Zambia because of its corruption, the Chinese have moved in to mine its copper, make textiles and set up model farms. In Rwanda, they are building roads. And in any resource-rich African country, the Chinese are ready to help so long as they have a first chance at the chrome, copper, iron ore, uranium, gas, oil and prime farmland.
The Chinese have just issued a white paper on Africa that speaks about their role in arming anti-colonial rebels in the middle of the last century, and guarantees no interference in African nations' internal affairs.
The white paper speaks about trade and friendship, investment and collaboration on infrastructure projects. For the Africans, this is a glorious departure from Western carping, moral strictures, and resistance to bribery.
Diplomats say the Chinese way is to hand over the bribes in the beginning and toughen their stands later. Any thug is a good man in the Chinese book, provided the Chinese get the resources they need to continue their economic expansion. Whereas the imperialists of the 19th century came with Bibles, laws and moral codes, the Chinese have hit Africa without conditions beyond the demand for access to its riches.
Oddly, a Chinese assault on Africa was often predicted by the waning colonial administrations in the 20th century. Then, it seemed like hysteria. Now, it is real.
On the ground, the new imperialists are not as well received by the general populace as they are by their leaders. China is underwriting the construction of Mugabe's $15 million retirement home, while he leveled citizens' shacks in a Nero-like effort at urban renewal. On the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, the Chinese are mocked for their alien ways, lack of cool and affinity for the regime.
In Zambia, the Chinese have promised that they will develop the mother lode of copper, which lies under that country's worked-out mines. Anglo-American, an international mining corporation, abandoned its endeavors after investing hundreds of millions of dollars because of government corruption and interference. The Chinese seem to think that they can overcome these local difficulties by buying off top politicians as they go after the vital copper.
Growing trade
Chinese trade with Africa stands at $76 billion, and it is growing every year. Primarily, this consists of raw materials shipped to China, with a smaller trade of very inexpensive Chinese goods shipped to, or dumped on, African markets. African consumers complain that they do not get the best of Chinese production, which goes to Europe and the United States.
In a cruel twist, the best farmland -- once reserved for white farmers -- in Zambia and Zimbabwe, is being made available to Chinese companies for industrial farming. Everyone is happy, except for the people of Africa, who continue to die of AIDS and starvation, as their evil leaders and their new Chinese friends write a new chapter in the exploitation of Africa.
X Llewellyn King is chairman and CEO of the King Publishing Co., publisher of White House Weekly and Energy Daily. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services