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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Sep 28 2010 - 10:35:25 EDT
<http://allafrica.com/africa/> Africa: China Summons Past to Advance Into
Continent
Antoaneta Becker
28 September 2010
_____
London - Irked by accusations that it is the new coloniser of Africa, China
is looking to use soft power and historical evidence of its ancient links to
the continent to justify its economic embrace of Africa.
Chinese archaeologists have been sent to hunt for a long-lost shipwreck off
the Kenya coast to support claims that China beat white explorers in
discovering Africa. Meanwhile Beijing is preparing to fund more research on
the continent to aid its companies and banks' quest for expansion there.
Last month saw the launch of the new China-Africa Research Centre under the
Ministry of Commerce. The centre's aim is to "provide a theoretical basis
for the Chinese government's Africa-related decision-makings," Huo Jianguo,
president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic
Cooperation under the ministry said at the opening. It will also provide
consultation services for companies with plans to expand their businesses to
Africa, he added.
"For a long time our Africa strategy resembled our strategy for economic
development -- 'crossing the river by feeling the stones', says He Wenping,
director of African Studies under the Institute of Western Asian and African
Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "We were not well
prepared to go to Africa and had to pay a high price, learning from our
mistakes. But now we are consolidating our strategy and there will be a new
focus on learning about Africa and speaking for ourselves."
Much hope is being placed on the treasure hunt conducted by Chinese and
African archaeologists in Kenya. They are searching for an ancient shipwreck
and other evidence of commerce between Africa and China dating back to the
early 15th century. The sunken ship is believed to have been part of an
armada commanded by Admiral Zheng He, a Muslim eunuch from the Ming dynasty
who the Chinese claim reached east Africa 80 years before the Portuguese
seafarer Vasco da Gama.
The three-year exploration project was launched in July and it is symbolic
of China's intensified efforts to present its modern-day conquest of Africa
as a continuation of Zheng He's "journey of peace and friendship" in the
ancient world.
Chinese records speak of Zheng He's fleet of 300 ships and thousands of
sailors that sailed the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Starting in 1405, Zheng
He made seven journeys to Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
He is said to have reached the coast of Kenya as early as 1418 loaded with
goods and gifts from the Chinese emperor. The sunken ship archaeologists
hope to find is believed to have been shipwrecked as it returned to China
carrying among all a giraffe handed by the Sultan of Malindi as a present to
the Chinese court.
"His trip is truly symbolic of what China's intentions towards Africa were
then and what they are now," insists He. "The Chinese that reached Africa
did not colonise, they went as traders and explorers."
China is the leading importer of raw mineral resources from Africa. Its
foray into African countries has been portrayed by some critics as
"plundering", drawing anger at home. The archaeological project highlights
China's desire to publicise that its blossoming relationship with Africa has
a much longer history than originally believed and it is not just about
business but about a historical legacy too.
Until a few years ago Chinese officials liked stressing China's support for
African liberation movements in their fight for independence and their
common anti-colonial ideological heritage. But the 60-years history of
contemporary relations with Africa is now regarded by academics at home as
no match for the West's presence in Africa since the 15th century.
Many Chinese scholars have pointed out that China lacks the wealth of
knowledge about Africa that western countries have accumulated over the
centuries. Without the shared religious background that links African with
European countries, China has had to tap ancient history in its efforts to
justify its expansion into Africa.
Aware of the need to present its own view of history and development between
the two continents, Beijing has been mulling the setting up of a
China-Africa Research Fund that could support institutions and individuals
in African studies. Much of the current African research undertaken by
Chinese scholars is funded by international institutions and Western
countries' grants.
African students are also seen as a factor that will play a role in shaping
the new China discourse on Africa. In recent years the Chinese government
has encouraged more African students to study in the country, offering
thousands of scholarships. In 2009 China had 120,000 students from Africa,
ten times more than it did in 2000. Cultivated as the future government
elites, these students are being taught not only Chinese but trained also in
engineering, science and agriculture studies.
All this has not gone unnoticed in Europe, which China claims still regards
Africa as its "backyard". A recent report by Chatham House in London said
resources and expertise on Africa have been allowed to wither in Western
governments, academia and the news media.
"Beneath the rhetoric of the importance of Africa, diplomatic and trade
resources devoted to it are still being cut in many Western capitals,
leading to a downward spiral of ignorance and thus marginalisation in
strategic awareness," wrote the writer of the report Tom Cargill.
If left unchecked, the report warned, this trend will wipe out Western
countries' comparative advantage over China in policy and academic
understanding of Africa.
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