Will the Real Chinese Stand Up?
September 13, 2014 Opinion & Analysis
China has been making major inroads into Africa despite the unfairly bad reputation they have acquired in Africa regarding the quality of some of their work and products
Baffour’s Beefs with Baffour Ankomah
IF you have been in a plane of late, you will have more affinity with what I am reporting today. The hordes of Chinese nationals going everywhere in Africa have become a major fixture on African aircraft and a wonder to behold. Some African airlines have even added Mandarin to the official languages in which announcements are made inside their planes.
And why not?
China is doing good in Africa. There is no doubt about it, despite the bad reputation they have acquired in Africa regarding the quality of some of their work and products!
I am writing this from my rural home in Ghana, and even here, deep in the rainforests of Kwame Nkrumah’s country, the Chinese are here in force. They are re-doing the nearby highway, and what great work they are doing.
In many African homes, the Chinese are known for their poor quality products than their good works. But that view is held by people who have not had the opportunity to see other China-made goods other than the ones brought to them by African traders who go to China to buy only the poorest Chinese goods on offer.
Thus, most Africans do not know that the Chinese generally make three grades of products. Grade One is more expensive and is normally bought and sold by Western and other advanced countries. My laptop, an Apple MacBook Pro, which I bought in New York, USA, was designed by Apple and made in China, and it costs a bomb. Many of the iPads beloved by Africans are made in China. And they are of high quality.
Sadly, the African traders who go to China to buy and sell back home in Africa only think about their profit margins and thus mainly buy the Third Grade products which break down even before you use them for the first time.
I told a friend two days ago, after the cable of his China-made kettle melted, that if I were the Chinese premier, I would ban, like Lee Kuan Yew did in Singapore, the manufacture of low-grade products in the country because they give China and Chinese products a very bad name.
Lee Kuan Yew, the father of the Singapore miracle, wanted the Singapore brand to be seen and known all over the world as very high quality, and therefore banned the manufacture of shoddy goods in the country. With time, Made-in-Singapore, like Made-in-England of the 1950s and 60s, commanded a special place in the psyche of buyers worldwide.
China has not done that yet, and its Third Grade products are making a bad name for it all over Africa. It is a wonder that the Chinese government, which is normally meticulous, has not yet realised the harm that the Third Grade products are doing to the image of China in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world.
Or has economic success blinded them to a point where they think anything goes? And good reputation does not matter?
Have they not learned anything from Germany and German machines?
Anything made in Germany is top class – whether cars, home appliances, or even football. I can see why twice in 1914-18 and 1939-45, they nearly beat all their neighbours in Europe put together during what became known as World War I and World War II. You can trust the German machine! Sadly, in Africa, the same cannot be said of the China machine.
Yet, the Chinese are still all over Africa and doing some good – and bad – works. The highway near my rural home has been vastly improved by them, and in the next month or two, a new Ghana Gas Project, the pride of President John Mahama’s Ghana, will be commissioned, in record time, thanks to Sinopec, the Chinese world-class company in that industry, which was the lead contractor of the project whose sub-contractors have come from Canada, France, Italy and elsewhere in the Western world.
China in Africa
China’s current activities in Africa, incidentally, remind me of the fretting that went on in the 1960s in the West about Chinese influence in Africa. I have just been reading some recently declassified British government papers about the efforts by Britain and its allies in checkmating China in Africa. And what an eye-opener these papers are!
Interestingly, checkmating China in Africa has been in the news of late, especially in the weeks prior to the first ever US-African Leaders Summit in Washington (August 4-5 2014). But from the British government’s declassified papers, checkmating China in Africa has always been a major Western preoccupation.
Cables, marked “secret”, sent from British embassies in Africa to London in the early 1960s talked about how Britain and its allies could prevent the Chinese from gaining a foothold in Africa.
Because of the lack of space, let me quote from just one of the cables. This particular one had a main title, “Communist Chinese Activities in Africa”, and a sub-title, “Chinese Interests and Intentions in Africa”.
According to the cable: “The Chinese have recently resuscitated the idea, first put forward by Mao Tse-Tung in 1946, of two ‘intermediate’ zones of the world distinct both from the Soviet Union and from the United States. The first zone consists of underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including those still seeking independence; the second of industrialised capitalist countries, including Western Europe, Canada and Australia.
“The former is of interest to China both because of her militant communism and because of her urge to establish world influence. She regards the underdeveloped world, and Africa in particular, as a key area in the struggle between East and West. She feels that her example is particularly relevant to underdeveloped countries, and her desire to gain friends and influence in these countries has been sharpened by the Sino-Soviet quarrel.
“China’s interest in Africa began to manifest itself on a serious scale from about the time of her participation in the first Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung in 1955, which the Russians did not attend. The Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation was set up on that occasion with Chinese support.”
The cable then fretted over what the Chinese were “practically” up to in Africa. Their activities, according to the British, included the following:
“(a) The training of selected individuals as communist leaders; the increase of diplomatic relations by 50 percent during the last six months; the impact of their powerful propaganda effort; last but not least, the popularity they have earned, e.g. in Guinea and Mali, by the generous terms which their technical assistance is offered and the simple way of life adopted by the [Chinese] technicians themselves.
“(b) The main limitations on the Chinese have been the reluctance of Africans to see the Sino-Soviet dispute projected into Africa; the fear felt by thoughtful Africans that China may be regarding their relatively under-populated continent as an eventful outlet for their surplus millions; Chinese inability to provide large-scale economic or military aid; the inherent reluctance of Africans to put out the energy necessary to follow the Chinese pattern of ‘self-help’.
“(c) The most effective positive counter-measure to Chinese influence is continued Western economic involvement in Africa and the policy of contributing to the continent’s economic development through trade and aid. Britain plays a large part in this. The Commonwealth machinery for continuing consultation is also useful, as are British and Western positive efforts in the field of technical cooperation and information.”
The cable then talked about “special information” work designed by Britain and it allies to expose Chinese and communist intentions and warn Africans of the dangers of the Chinese expansion in Africa.
Chinese aims
According to the cable, China’s immediate aims in Africa were as follows:
“(a) To establish formal diplomatic relations with a greater number of African countries; 18 African countries still have relations with Nationalist China, against only 14 so far in relations with Peking.
“(b) To woo African votes in the United Nations, where the Chinese may now appear to be more keen to be seated than they have in the past admitted.
“(c) To promote ‘Afro-Asian solidarity’, to the exclusion of the Soviet Union; this was a main theme of Mr Chou En-lai’s visit to Africa in January 1964.
“(d) To gain the support of African countries in the Sino-Soviet split.
“(e) To win African support for Chinese policies in general.
“(f) To subvert pro-Western governments which are having difficulty in maintaining their authority; weak central governments threatened by provincial rebellion, as in the Congo, are the obvious target.
“(g) To develop trade; the Chinese need fine quality East African cotton to fulfil their present trading commitments, and they have gained an interest in Saharan oil; they have even been prepared to expand their trade with South Africa, although in deference to the proclaimed boycott on South Africa.”
Chinese aid to Africa
The British and their allies were even concerned about Chinese aid to Africa or what the cable termed as China’s “principles of aid”, which, according to the cable, were enunciated in the following terms:
“They are interest-free and are to take the form of equipment, commodities and manpower; they are said not to be tied to Chinese goods. The Kenyans have expressed pleasure at the relatively unconditional nature of the loan.
“It is difficult to estimate how much of the Chinese aid offered in the past has been utilised. The fact that much of the Russian aid offered has never been implemented and that there has been considerable dissatisfaction with the Russian goods and services supplied may at present militate in China’s favour.
“But the principle of self-help is not so likely to appeal to Africans, who lack Chinese energy and efficiency, and feel that they need capital investment rather than exhortations to hard work from non-Africans.
“When President Nkrumah of Ghana dwelt on what Africans could learn from China’s ‘do-it-yourself’ methods, it was probably Chinese aid and technical training that he was seeking, rather than advice on economic planning.
“The Chinese may therefore win some friends in Africa through their aid and technical assistance, but will probably be disappointed if they expect Africans to apply the principle of self-help.”
Under a sub-head, “Cultural and educational exchanges”, the cable claimed that the Chinese effort in this field was small in comparison with that of the Soviet bloc. There were, of course, even greater language difficulties for African students studying in China than in Russia.
British counter measures
Here came the rub: how Britain and its allies could checkmate China in Africa. Under the heading, “British counter measures”, the cable made the following suggestions:
“Counter measures can be divided into two categories. First, the direct manifestations of Western interest and activity in Africa. The greater the scale and success of these, the greater is the likelihood of their pre-empting Chinese activity.
“Foremost among such measures is the continued commercial involvement of Britain and her Western allies in Africa, particularly on realistic industrial development projects; the expansion of aid-through-trade (as outlined by Mr Edward Heath at the Geneva conference), and the continuation of aid proper should help to prevent China making political capital out of the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries.
“The continued use of the Commonwealth machinery of consultation at all levels, including the highest, is another positive way of pre-empting Chinese influence. Other specific and positive measures include:
“(i) Technical assistance, channelled through the Department for Technical Co-operation and primarily geared to the Commonwealth, although a modest effort is now being made in the ex-French territories.
“(ii) The Information Services (of the Foreign Office, Commonwealth Relations Office and Central Office of Information) which involve the overt exploitation of mass media both centrally and by officers in the field.
“(iii) BBC Services (external broadcasting services and English language courses), which will be substantially augmented when the Ascension Island station opens, probably in 1965.
“(iv) Visits – an important and growing programme of sponsored visits by Africans to the United Kingdom (both official and through non-government agencies).
“(v) The British Council, which currently spends over £1 million and has permanent establishments in 23 African countries (including some not yet independent).
“(vi) Voluntary Services Overseas and other bodies cooperating in the ‘Lockwood Scheme’, under which about 600 graduates and school-leavers are at present working voluntarily in Africa on temporary jobs connected with teaching, agriculture, medicine, administration and social services.
“(vii) Students in the United Kingdom – there are approximately 20 000 African students in the United Kingdom (compared with approximately 4 000 in all communist countries put together).
“The second category of counter measures consists of information and related work undertaken by Her Majesty’s Embassy with the specific purpose of checking the spread of communist, including Chinese, influence in Africa.
“This is largely channelled through Information Research Department which supplies posts in Africa with material and suggestions to be passed to local authorities [and] leaders of opinion.”
BBC and the others
Thus 50 years ago, the same concerns being expressed today by the West about Chinese influence in Africa, and how to counter it, were as high as they are today. Nothing has changed.
To me, as a journalist, the role assigned to the BBC, the British Council, and the Voluntary Services Overseas in checkmating China in Africa, as expressed in the cable, presents a salutary lesson.
Many African countries have not paid attention to the special place the BBC, British Council, and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) occupy in the British government’s efforts in winning hearts and minds around the world. And I am putting it mildly. It can be worse.
Thus, if you hear the British and the Americans pontificate about the “state-owned media” in Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, wave this cable in front of their eyes and remind them of how they use the BBC, the British Council and VSO, or the CNN and the VOA and the other Western media platforms, in their propaganda activities. “What is good for the goose is also good for the gander” is not even a Zimbabwean idiom. It is British.
And then, this one: “Students in the United Kingdom – there are approximately 20 000 African students in the United Kingdom (compared with approximately 4 000 in all communist countries put together).”
This was in the 1960s, and our students in Britain and elsewhere in the West were cannon fodder for British and Western propaganda in those days as they are today. And we wonder why Africa is not progressing, when sending Africans to study in the West is now so, so fashionable, and the numbers have increased exponentially since the 1960s.
Are we not reaping what we sow?
baffank@gmail.com
 |
| President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana with China leader Mao Tse-Tung in 1962. |
China has been making major inroads into Africa despite the unfairly bad reputation they have acquired in Africa regarding the quality of some of their work and products
Baffour’s Beefs with Baffour Ankomah
IF you have been in a plane of late, you will have more affinity with what I am reporting today. The hordes of Chinese nationals going everywhere in Africa have become a major fixture on African aircraft and a wonder to behold. Some African airlines have even added Mandarin to the official languages in which announcements are made inside their planes.
And why not?
China is doing good in Africa. There is no doubt about it, despite the bad reputation they have acquired in Africa regarding the quality of some of their work and products!
I am writing this from my rural home in Ghana, and even here, deep in the rainforests of Kwame Nkrumah’s country, the Chinese are here in force. They are re-doing the nearby highway, and what great work they are doing.
In many African homes, the Chinese are known for their poor quality products than their good works. But that view is held by people who have not had the opportunity to see other China-made goods other than the ones brought to them by African traders who go to China to buy only the poorest Chinese goods on offer.
Thus, most Africans do not know that the Chinese generally make three grades of products. Grade One is more expensive and is normally bought and sold by Western and other advanced countries. My laptop, an Apple MacBook Pro, which I bought in New York, USA, was designed by Apple and made in China, and it costs a bomb. Many of the iPads beloved by Africans are made in China. And they are of high quality.
Sadly, the African traders who go to China to buy and sell back home in Africa only think about their profit margins and thus mainly buy the Third Grade products which break down even before you use them for the first time.
I told a friend two days ago, after the cable of his China-made kettle melted, that if I were the Chinese premier, I would ban, like Lee Kuan Yew did in Singapore, the manufacture of low-grade products in the country because they give China and Chinese products a very bad name.
Lee Kuan Yew, the father of the Singapore miracle, wanted the Singapore brand to be seen and known all over the world as very high quality, and therefore banned the manufacture of shoddy goods in the country. With time, Made-in-Singapore, like Made-in-England of the 1950s and 60s, commanded a special place in the psyche of buyers worldwide.
China has not done that yet, and its Third Grade products are making a bad name for it all over Africa. It is a wonder that the Chinese government, which is normally meticulous, has not yet realised the harm that the Third Grade products are doing to the image of China in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world.
Or has economic success blinded them to a point where they think anything goes? And good reputation does not matter?
Have they not learned anything from Germany and German machines?
Anything made in Germany is top class – whether cars, home appliances, or even football. I can see why twice in 1914-18 and 1939-45, they nearly beat all their neighbours in Europe put together during what became known as World War I and World War II. You can trust the German machine! Sadly, in Africa, the same cannot be said of the China machine.
Yet, the Chinese are still all over Africa and doing some good – and bad – works. The highway near my rural home has been vastly improved by them, and in the next month or two, a new Ghana Gas Project, the pride of President John Mahama’s Ghana, will be commissioned, in record time, thanks to Sinopec, the Chinese world-class company in that industry, which was the lead contractor of the project whose sub-contractors have come from Canada, France, Italy and elsewhere in the Western world.
China in Africa
China’s current activities in Africa, incidentally, remind me of the fretting that went on in the 1960s in the West about Chinese influence in Africa. I have just been reading some recently declassified British government papers about the efforts by Britain and its allies in checkmating China in Africa. And what an eye-opener these papers are!
Interestingly, checkmating China in Africa has been in the news of late, especially in the weeks prior to the first ever US-African Leaders Summit in Washington (August 4-5 2014). But from the British government’s declassified papers, checkmating China in Africa has always been a major Western preoccupation.
Cables, marked “secret”, sent from British embassies in Africa to London in the early 1960s talked about how Britain and its allies could prevent the Chinese from gaining a foothold in Africa.
Because of the lack of space, let me quote from just one of the cables. This particular one had a main title, “Communist Chinese Activities in Africa”, and a sub-title, “Chinese Interests and Intentions in Africa”.
According to the cable: “The Chinese have recently resuscitated the idea, first put forward by Mao Tse-Tung in 1946, of two ‘intermediate’ zones of the world distinct both from the Soviet Union and from the United States. The first zone consists of underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including those still seeking independence; the second of industrialised capitalist countries, including Western Europe, Canada and Australia.
“The former is of interest to China both because of her militant communism and because of her urge to establish world influence. She regards the underdeveloped world, and Africa in particular, as a key area in the struggle between East and West. She feels that her example is particularly relevant to underdeveloped countries, and her desire to gain friends and influence in these countries has been sharpened by the Sino-Soviet quarrel.
“China’s interest in Africa began to manifest itself on a serious scale from about the time of her participation in the first Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung in 1955, which the Russians did not attend. The Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation was set up on that occasion with Chinese support.”
The cable then fretted over what the Chinese were “practically” up to in Africa. Their activities, according to the British, included the following:
“(a) The training of selected individuals as communist leaders; the increase of diplomatic relations by 50 percent during the last six months; the impact of their powerful propaganda effort; last but not least, the popularity they have earned, e.g. in Guinea and Mali, by the generous terms which their technical assistance is offered and the simple way of life adopted by the [Chinese] technicians themselves.
“(b) The main limitations on the Chinese have been the reluctance of Africans to see the Sino-Soviet dispute projected into Africa; the fear felt by thoughtful Africans that China may be regarding their relatively under-populated continent as an eventful outlet for their surplus millions; Chinese inability to provide large-scale economic or military aid; the inherent reluctance of Africans to put out the energy necessary to follow the Chinese pattern of ‘self-help’.
“(c) The most effective positive counter-measure to Chinese influence is continued Western economic involvement in Africa and the policy of contributing to the continent’s economic development through trade and aid. Britain plays a large part in this. The Commonwealth machinery for continuing consultation is also useful, as are British and Western positive efforts in the field of technical cooperation and information.”
The cable then talked about “special information” work designed by Britain and it allies to expose Chinese and communist intentions and warn Africans of the dangers of the Chinese expansion in Africa.
Chinese aims
According to the cable, China’s immediate aims in Africa were as follows:
“(a) To establish formal diplomatic relations with a greater number of African countries; 18 African countries still have relations with Nationalist China, against only 14 so far in relations with Peking.
“(b) To woo African votes in the United Nations, where the Chinese may now appear to be more keen to be seated than they have in the past admitted.
“(c) To promote ‘Afro-Asian solidarity’, to the exclusion of the Soviet Union; this was a main theme of Mr Chou En-lai’s visit to Africa in January 1964.
“(d) To gain the support of African countries in the Sino-Soviet split.
“(e) To win African support for Chinese policies in general.
“(f) To subvert pro-Western governments which are having difficulty in maintaining their authority; weak central governments threatened by provincial rebellion, as in the Congo, are the obvious target.
“(g) To develop trade; the Chinese need fine quality East African cotton to fulfil their present trading commitments, and they have gained an interest in Saharan oil; they have even been prepared to expand their trade with South Africa, although in deference to the proclaimed boycott on South Africa.”
Chinese aid to Africa
The British and their allies were even concerned about Chinese aid to Africa or what the cable termed as China’s “principles of aid”, which, according to the cable, were enunciated in the following terms:
“They are interest-free and are to take the form of equipment, commodities and manpower; they are said not to be tied to Chinese goods. The Kenyans have expressed pleasure at the relatively unconditional nature of the loan.
“It is difficult to estimate how much of the Chinese aid offered in the past has been utilised. The fact that much of the Russian aid offered has never been implemented and that there has been considerable dissatisfaction with the Russian goods and services supplied may at present militate in China’s favour.
“But the principle of self-help is not so likely to appeal to Africans, who lack Chinese energy and efficiency, and feel that they need capital investment rather than exhortations to hard work from non-Africans.
“When President Nkrumah of Ghana dwelt on what Africans could learn from China’s ‘do-it-yourself’ methods, it was probably Chinese aid and technical training that he was seeking, rather than advice on economic planning.
“The Chinese may therefore win some friends in Africa through their aid and technical assistance, but will probably be disappointed if they expect Africans to apply the principle of self-help.”
Under a sub-head, “Cultural and educational exchanges”, the cable claimed that the Chinese effort in this field was small in comparison with that of the Soviet bloc. There were, of course, even greater language difficulties for African students studying in China than in Russia.
British counter measures
Here came the rub: how Britain and its allies could checkmate China in Africa. Under the heading, “British counter measures”, the cable made the following suggestions:
“Counter measures can be divided into two categories. First, the direct manifestations of Western interest and activity in Africa. The greater the scale and success of these, the greater is the likelihood of their pre-empting Chinese activity.
“Foremost among such measures is the continued commercial involvement of Britain and her Western allies in Africa, particularly on realistic industrial development projects; the expansion of aid-through-trade (as outlined by Mr Edward Heath at the Geneva conference), and the continuation of aid proper should help to prevent China making political capital out of the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries.
“The continued use of the Commonwealth machinery of consultation at all levels, including the highest, is another positive way of pre-empting Chinese influence. Other specific and positive measures include:
“(i) Technical assistance, channelled through the Department for Technical Co-operation and primarily geared to the Commonwealth, although a modest effort is now being made in the ex-French territories.
“(ii) The Information Services (of the Foreign Office, Commonwealth Relations Office and Central Office of Information) which involve the overt exploitation of mass media both centrally and by officers in the field.
“(iii) BBC Services (external broadcasting services and English language courses), which will be substantially augmented when the Ascension Island station opens, probably in 1965.
“(iv) Visits – an important and growing programme of sponsored visits by Africans to the United Kingdom (both official and through non-government agencies).
“(v) The British Council, which currently spends over £1 million and has permanent establishments in 23 African countries (including some not yet independent).
“(vi) Voluntary Services Overseas and other bodies cooperating in the ‘Lockwood Scheme’, under which about 600 graduates and school-leavers are at present working voluntarily in Africa on temporary jobs connected with teaching, agriculture, medicine, administration and social services.
“(vii) Students in the United Kingdom – there are approximately 20 000 African students in the United Kingdom (compared with approximately 4 000 in all communist countries put together).
“The second category of counter measures consists of information and related work undertaken by Her Majesty’s Embassy with the specific purpose of checking the spread of communist, including Chinese, influence in Africa.
“This is largely channelled through Information Research Department which supplies posts in Africa with material and suggestions to be passed to local authorities [and] leaders of opinion.”
BBC and the others
Thus 50 years ago, the same concerns being expressed today by the West about Chinese influence in Africa, and how to counter it, were as high as they are today. Nothing has changed.
To me, as a journalist, the role assigned to the BBC, the British Council, and the Voluntary Services Overseas in checkmating China in Africa, as expressed in the cable, presents a salutary lesson.
Many African countries have not paid attention to the special place the BBC, British Council, and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) occupy in the British government’s efforts in winning hearts and minds around the world. And I am putting it mildly. It can be worse.
Thus, if you hear the British and the Americans pontificate about the “state-owned media” in Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, wave this cable in front of their eyes and remind them of how they use the BBC, the British Council and VSO, or the CNN and the VOA and the other Western media platforms, in their propaganda activities. “What is good for the goose is also good for the gander” is not even a Zimbabwean idiom. It is British.
And then, this one: “Students in the United Kingdom – there are approximately 20 000 African students in the United Kingdom (compared with approximately 4 000 in all communist countries put together).”
This was in the 1960s, and our students in Britain and elsewhere in the West were cannon fodder for British and Western propaganda in those days as they are today. And we wonder why Africa is not progressing, when sending Africans to study in the West is now so, so fashionable, and the numbers have increased exponentially since the 1960s.
Are we not reaping what we sow?
baffank@gmail.com
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