Weathering the financial storm: China’s revised economic strategy in Africa
The global financial crisis has made every country on the planet re-think its economic approaches and policies – and China is no exception. In fact, according to a recent ‘Asia Briefing’ by Jonathan Holslag of the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS), one of the ways Beijing is pursuing its economic policy abroad is by upping its investment in natural resources and development aid.
According to the newly-published Briefing, increasing its grip over natural resources is not only allowing China to safeguard its natural resource supplies, but also to exert influence on future market prices. In an era where commodity prices have collapsed, Beijing’s central government has started to funnel parts of its financial reserves into strategic stockpiles of oil, coal, copper and rare ores.
“While Western companies lack the means to invest in new mining projects, their Chinese peers are continuing to drill for oil and minerals,” Jonathan Holslag writes.
For example, China has launched new projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Niger, and aims to propel its “friendly giant” image by giving more aid to developing countries. During his last trip to Africa, China’s President Hu granted at least US$40M to Mali, Senegal and Tanzania.
More information:
www.vub.ac.be/biccs
Event: Seminar on Africa, Asia and China relations
Interested in the Africa-Asia nexus? BICCS is sponsoring an evening seminar this week, which will examine how Asian powers compete with each other to gain access to the African market. Speakers will assess the consequences for the EU and formulate options to make the growing interest from the East conducive to African sustainable development.
Date and Venue:
Wednesday, 5 March – Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)