Lang Xianping[Sina.com.cn]

Increased economic cooperation between BRICS nations and third world countries are providing southern states with increased bargaining power on the global stage. Although Chinese investment and aid projects in Africa have so far been successful in accelerating localized development, western media have viciously attacked China’s African policy due to fears of weakening western influence.

Africa, the cradle of human civilization, has not been able to peacefully develop due to western influence and colonization. The West has also dramatically limited the growth of the continent’s agricultural industry via control over the mining industry.

African laborers are forced to farm very few kinds of cash crops on arable land as raw material exports to the West make up a majority of African countries’ economies. Viewing Africa through this lens it becomes easy to see why western arguments are biased against Sino-African cooperation.

What does China’s involvement in African development mean for the West? Look at Sudan. Before China began offering development aid to the Sudanese government, Sudan was crippled by long-term western economic sanctions aimed at forcing the country to give control of its oil fields to western interests.

By lending money to Sudan for certain programs, China receives monthly payments backed by crude oil foreign exchange earnings. What the West finds more irritating is that China’s African programs not only employs many Chinese laborers, but often creates an entire industrial chain that cuts out western businesses.

The western media often asks if resources are the only things China cares about. This is a loaded question, and implies that China does not care about human rights or the well being of Africans in general.

In the late 1960s, wave after wave of national liberation movements drove colonialist powers out of Africa. China has never been a colonial power, and adheres to the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” and refuses to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign states. On the opposite side of the coin is the West, which even uses the guise of “peacekeeping operations” to influence local policy.

The West has begun to adjust its strategies as more and more African countries want to develop. How can China adapt to these changes? The key lies in grasping the West’s true intentions for Africa.

However, the most important thing is China’s further development. Only when China becomes more prosperous can it help support the development of other countries. China needs to reassure its African friends that the fruits of economic development will be shared fairly and equally.

The author is chair professor of Finance of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The article was first published in Chinese and translated by Fan Junmei.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.