China's Long March into Africa

New Faces in the Old Continent of Africa

Apr 10, 2009 Tongkeh Joseph Fowale

Africa's massive wealth of untapped resources has become the center of attraction for Chinese migrants. How are the Chinese different from Europeans?

In his article published in The Sunday Times of February 2008, Jon Swain describes Africa as “China’s new frontier.” Swain quotes a Chinese scientist who makes a very bold claim, saying “We will have to send 300 million people to Africa before we begin to see the end of our problems.” Such statements sound exaggerated, but the reality on the ground is not very far from the truth.

China Africa Migration in Historical Perspective

When a DNA tests traced her ancestry to China, the 19 year old Kenyan girl, Mwamlaka Shariff Lali became living proof of ancient contacts between China and Africa. This history dates back six centuries ago when the Chinese sailor Zheng He landed (or was shipwrecked) on the East African coast with a crew of about 27,000. Zheng’s men took African women for wives.

History resurfaces when China committed its full weight in wrenching Africa out of colonial rule in the liberation struggles of the 1960s and ‘70s. During this people, China also sent technicians to build infrastructure in Africa. The most notable of such projects is the TAN-ZAM railway line built by about 50.000 Chinese engineers. However, it is only in the past decade that the Chinese population in Africa has surged considerably following revitalized Sino-African relations.

New “White” Faces on Africa’s Streets

For many African teenagers who cannot distinguish an Asian from a European, there has simply been an increase in the number of “white” people in Africa. For curious ones however, the distinction is very clear in the nature of their economic involvement in Africa. Jon Swain paints this picture vividly. “The Chinese work in agriculture, trade and construction and doing everything from producing oil and developing giant state-financed infrastructure projects, building roads and railways, to smaller enterprises producing shoes, textiles, motorbikes, TVs and CDs.”

William Wallis presented the same report in the Financial Times of January 24 2008. “… it is possible to find Chinese foot massage parlors in Chad, doughnut hawkers in Cameroon and vegetable producers in Khartoum’s market." China’s population in Africa is currently estimated at one million and is expected to rise dramatically as the Chinese aggressively exploit vast opportunities in Africa. “During the last decade,” says Jon Swain, “tens of thousands have uprooted themselves from China and migrated to Africa with Chinese government approval ….”

How Chinese Are Perceived in Africa

African perceptions of Chinese can be seen at two levels. At the state level, African leaders are very positive about the presence of the Chinese. “There is no one like the Chinese,” said Lansana Conte, former President of Guinea. “At least they work. They live with us in the mud ….” Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade praised Chinese workers in similar terms. “China is doing a much better job than western capitalists in responding to market demands in Africa.” Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana was no less appreciative. “… I prefer the attitude of China to that of the West.”

At the level of the masses, at the grassroots level, the applause is neither universal nor loud. In some countries of Africa, the local population cares little about the presence of the Chinese. In others, however, there are recurrent frictions. These conflicts arise because of the attitudes of the Chinese who want to draw money out of rock, water, air, dust or mud. This means that even the most unskilled workers in Africa are under threat.

In some areas of Africa, the Chinese population has been the object of outright hostility. Chinese citizens have been killed in Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria and recently in Chad. In 2006, Zambian opposition leader, Michael Sata accused China of using Zambia as a dumping ground for Chinese citizens. However, such minor incidents do not seem to have even the slightest scratch on China’s “long march” into Africa. Jon Swain agrees “The Chinese are advancing throughout Africa … the scale of their activities is growing ever faster.”

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Chinese migrants in Zambia