Clash of the Titans: Chinese-West rivalry on Africa
Diretube. Fully
geared with safety hats and reflective jackets, Getachew Belay and
Getenet Mengiste are toiling away under the blazing sun moving around
heavy metal, fitting rail profiles and more on the Addis Ababa Light
Rail Transit (LRT) project.
The men are busy working under the scorching eyes of a Chinese and Ethiopian supervisor. Now 24 years old, Getachew came from Gojam in the Amhara Regional State a few years ago. Before joining the railway team he had trouble finding permanent occupation, mostly working as a daily laborer in construction projects. “I am happy to have a dependable monthly income,” Getachew pauses to say a few words to The Reporter. Thanks to his new job, now he can chip in for the rent of a service quarter he shares with his friends. For Getenet, former stonemason, it is not about sustenance, but the railway work is a unique opportunity to get one step closer to the sophisticated construction machinery, which he would like to operate someday. “The experience will definitely get me ever closer to the machines so that I can watch and learn,” he says in a confident tone.
What they have in common is the fact that both of them could not care less if the LRT project is made possible with the support of the Chinese, the US or any country. It is not their concern whether the USD 470 million project is an emblematic structure symbolizing Chinese growing interest and involvement in Africa. They do not contemplate the significance of the growing Chinese influence in Africa either. The reaction of the lately awakening western countries to China's advance and resultant rivalry over Africa is definitely not on the list of Getachew's or Getenet's pressing agenda items. In fact, they know little of the recent events where two of the worlds' biggest economies, the US and China, came to town. Li Keqiang and John Kerry, Prime Minister of China and Secretary of State of the United State of America, visited Ethiopia last week and the week before.
According to official statements, Kerry's appearance pertained to the deteriorating conditions in South Sudan, while Li Keqiang's, who arrived just days later, had other matters at heart. Sixteen different issues to be exact, which he addressed by inking agreements with his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn. Nevertheless, the politics behind the curtain was a lot more than economic cooperation between the two countries, where the latter pledged to assist the development of export zones, roads, sugar plants, security systems and the like. Scholars and politicians are now convinced that fast advance of the Chinese into Africa has changed the dynamics of the geopolitics in the continent. Many agree on an ongoing rivalry between the classical donors like the west and Japan and emerging economic powers like China, India and Brazil over the virgin continent- Africa. Although the west started late, the two sides are now obviously in a race to amass economic interests in Africa.
The Chinese relationship with Africa dates back to the 1950s where most of the African nations were under colonial rule. Gedion G. Jalata, a researcher on China/India-Africa relations, writes the Chinese widely supported liberation movements across the continent to which Ethiopia was an exception. But, formal Sino-Ethiopia cooperation can be traced back to the 1970s, which continued through the 1990s albeit at a very low tempo. However, the visit of the late PM Meles Zenawi to China in 1995 marked the rekindling relations between the two countries. On his visit, the PM sealed economic and technical cooperation deals with China, which was further fostered by the trade and investment pacts signed during the visit of the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin to Ethiopia two years after.
Currently, Ethiopia stands among the four countries in Africa, namely Nigeria, Angola and Sudan to receive close to 70 percent of the total development assistance coming to the continent from China. It (China) is also the biggest bilateral source of development assistance for Ethiopia, not to mention 40 of the country’s overall trade volume is accounted for by China. The volume of trade is expected to reach three billion by 2015 while the stock of Chinese direct investment to Ethiopia was close to two billion in the past four years.
Diretube. Fully
geared with safety hats and reflective jackets, Getachew Belay and
Getenet Mengiste are toiling away under the blazing sun moving around
heavy metal, fitting rail profiles and more on the Addis Ababa Light
Rail Transit (LRT) project.The men are busy working under the scorching eyes of a Chinese and Ethiopian supervisor. Now 24 years old, Getachew came from Gojam in the Amhara Regional State a few years ago. Before joining the railway team he had trouble finding permanent occupation, mostly working as a daily laborer in construction projects. “I am happy to have a dependable monthly income,” Getachew pauses to say a few words to The Reporter. Thanks to his new job, now he can chip in for the rent of a service quarter he shares with his friends. For Getenet, former stonemason, it is not about sustenance, but the railway work is a unique opportunity to get one step closer to the sophisticated construction machinery, which he would like to operate someday. “The experience will definitely get me ever closer to the machines so that I can watch and learn,” he says in a confident tone.
What they have in common is the fact that both of them could not care less if the LRT project is made possible with the support of the Chinese, the US or any country. It is not their concern whether the USD 470 million project is an emblematic structure symbolizing Chinese growing interest and involvement in Africa. They do not contemplate the significance of the growing Chinese influence in Africa either. The reaction of the lately awakening western countries to China's advance and resultant rivalry over Africa is definitely not on the list of Getachew's or Getenet's pressing agenda items. In fact, they know little of the recent events where two of the worlds' biggest economies, the US and China, came to town. Li Keqiang and John Kerry, Prime Minister of China and Secretary of State of the United State of America, visited Ethiopia last week and the week before.
According to official statements, Kerry's appearance pertained to the deteriorating conditions in South Sudan, while Li Keqiang's, who arrived just days later, had other matters at heart. Sixteen different issues to be exact, which he addressed by inking agreements with his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn. Nevertheless, the politics behind the curtain was a lot more than economic cooperation between the two countries, where the latter pledged to assist the development of export zones, roads, sugar plants, security systems and the like. Scholars and politicians are now convinced that fast advance of the Chinese into Africa has changed the dynamics of the geopolitics in the continent. Many agree on an ongoing rivalry between the classical donors like the west and Japan and emerging economic powers like China, India and Brazil over the virgin continent- Africa. Although the west started late, the two sides are now obviously in a race to amass economic interests in Africa.
The Chinese relationship with Africa dates back to the 1950s where most of the African nations were under colonial rule. Gedion G. Jalata, a researcher on China/India-Africa relations, writes the Chinese widely supported liberation movements across the continent to which Ethiopia was an exception. But, formal Sino-Ethiopia cooperation can be traced back to the 1970s, which continued through the 1990s albeit at a very low tempo. However, the visit of the late PM Meles Zenawi to China in 1995 marked the rekindling relations between the two countries. On his visit, the PM sealed economic and technical cooperation deals with China, which was further fostered by the trade and investment pacts signed during the visit of the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin to Ethiopia two years after.
Currently, Ethiopia stands among the four countries in Africa, namely Nigeria, Angola and Sudan to receive close to 70 percent of the total development assistance coming to the continent from China. It (China) is also the biggest bilateral source of development assistance for Ethiopia, not to mention 40 of the country’s overall trade volume is accounted for by China. The volume of trade is expected to reach three billion by 2015 while the stock of Chinese direct investment to Ethiopia was close to two billion in the past four years.
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