Chinese curry favor in Zimbabwe.

Odious Zimbabwean President Mugabe persuaded the Chinese to help him out.

They will provide some money, build a hydroelectric dam, and make Mugabe an honorary professor.

That must take guts, to remain in the same room with a character like this. Not that it phased them any when it came to supporting the loathsome Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to suit their anti Vietnamese policy. So the Chinese have probably got a strong reason for lining up behind this guy and spending a bunch of money on a hydroelectric project.

Questi0n: What do the Chinese get out of this that makes it worthwhile for them to be associated with Mugabe?

The Chinese scored major points with the Angolan regime by helping them with their fight against the S. Africans and . They already have a space tracking station in Namibia and some Chinese running around loose there. More of the same in Zimbabwe? Good deals on chromium ore (found only in Zimbabwe, Russia, S. Africa, Turkey, Iran, Albania, Finland, Madagascar, and the Philippines)? A presence near the rich mining areas of Katanga (cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, and diamonds)?

How'd you like to be the Chinese faculty member designated to present the honorary degree on this mug? "Hey, Wang. Get in here. Your turn to present (snork) an honorary degree to some psychodorque the Party is sucking up to."

The Chinese are also active in S. America. See IST.

China's indifference to political controversy is illustrated in its close relationship with Zimbabwe. China is the principal supporter of the Mugabe regime, which is reviled in the international community . . . .

The Other Side of the Coin

China's principal interest in the continent is access to natural resources. But it is not its only interest. China's economic interests are wider. China's trade with Africa has risen sharply, from $10 billion in 2003 to $20 billion in 2004 and another 50 percent increase is expected in 2005. Chinese goods are flooding African markets . . . .

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The Implications for the United States

It would be easy, but mistaken, to build up the rising role of China in Africa as a new threat to the United States, or even to its interests in Africa, and thus make China an "enemy" there. What is necessary is to recognize that the rising economy of China, and nearly as significant those of India and other Asian countries, changes the strategic and economic playing field in Africa. It is not dissimilar to the impact of those economies in Latin America where many of the same phenomena are taking place.

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American interests are not yet seriously threatened. . . . But the United States does have to recognize that the United States, and the western nations altogether, cannot consider Africa any more their chasse garde as the French once considered francophone Africa. There is a new strategic framework operating on the continent and it demands new ways of operating.

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Finally, the United States should begin to engage China on Africa. China has more than economic objectives. China is seeking to be recognized as a major power.

China's Rising Role in Africa.
Presentation to the US-China Commission July 21, 2005
By Princeton Lyman
Director of Africa Policy Studies
Council on Foreign Relations