Africa told to view China as competitor
updated 3:46 AM EDT, Tue March 12, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Nigeria's central bank governor warns China is a rival as much as trade partner
- Africa is opening itself up to new "imperialism", says Sanusi
- Trade between China and Africa worth more than $200 billion
Reflecting the shifting
views of a growing number of senior African officials who fear the
continent's anaemic industrial sector is being battered by cheap Chinese
imports, Lamido Sanusi cautions that Africa is "opening itself up to a
new form of imperialism".
"China takes from us
primary goods and sells us manufactured ones. This was also the essence
of colonialism," he writes in the Financial Times. His remarks are among
the most trenchant yet by a serving African official about the
continent's ties with the world's second largest economy.
Trade between China and
Africa was worth more than $200bn in 2012, 20 times what it was in 2000
when Beijing committed to a policy of accelerated engagement. It has
been a period of strong growth partly thanks to Asian demand for African
resources . But a boom in commodities, services and consumer spending
has coincided with the relative decline of African manufacturing from
12.8 per cent to 10.5 per cent of regional GDP, according to UN figures.
China's taste for diamonds
Investor eyes S. African mining industry
China's growing influence in Africa
African leaders and the
African Development Bank have recently urged governments to work with
each other to ensure they maximise benefits from relations with their
leading trade partner, but they have traditionally cloaked their
concerns in emollient diplomatic language.
In contrast Mr Sanusi has
thrown down the gauntlet to Beijing. "China is no longer a 'fellow
underdeveloped economy'," he writes. "China is the second biggest
economy in the world, an economic giant capable of the same forms of
exploitation as the west. China is a major contributor to the
de-industrialisation of Africa and thus African underdevelopment."
An experienced private
sector banker, Mr Sanusi is credited with cleaning up Nigeria's banking
system after a crash that wiped out 60 per cent of bank capital in 2009.
He has also given Nigeria's central bank a more activist role,
providing concessional refinancing to banks exposed to manufacturers and
small and medium enterprises struggling to service high-interest,
short-term loans.
In his article, Mr Sanusi
argues that African countries must respond to "predatory" trade
practices -- such as subsidies and currency manipulation -- that give
Chinese exports an advantage. He also says the continent must build
infrastructure and invest in education so that African businesses can
compete for continental trade as Chinese labour costs rise.
"China is losing that
advantage as its economy grows and prosperity spreads," he writes.
"Africa must seize the moment and move manufacturing of goods consumed
in Africa out of China to the African continent ... I cannot recommend a
divorce. However, a review of the exploitative elements in this marital
contract is long overdue."
His comments come ahead
of South Africa's hosting of a summit of Bric nations later this month.
South Africa, the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, was
incorporated into the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India and China last year.
South African President
Jacob Zuma last week warned western companies to shed an old "colonial"
mindset when investing in Africa and to stop warning against the embrace
of China.
"China is doing business
in a particular way and we think we can see the benefits," he told the
Financial Times. "But we are very, very careful," he added, citing
Africa's experience of colonialism. Such a relationship he said must
"benefit both. And this is what we and China have been agreeing."
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