China rolls out the red carpet

04 Oct, 2015 - 00:10 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Levi Mukarati recently in Beijing, China
Could there be any other country with such high levels of determination and conviction? China is certain it will expand its global economic and political influence – and not tomorrow, but today. The country has an ambitious project to become the major trading partner of at least 65 countries, representing about a third of the world’s total economy and more than half the seven billion human population.

The drive was launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping through the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative inspired by its traditional Silk Road trade route.

OBOR rides on the notion that China has excess capacity and capital that can be used towards infrastructure development in other countries thereby generating income for local growth.
Two years ago, many thought President Xi’s idea was a dream.

But the country is fast turning that dream into reality and demonstrating to the world that blueprints need not gather dust on office shelves.
Implementation of ideas is inevitable for the Chinese. In just two years, a US$50 billion fund has been created to support OBOR. The facility is part of a grand US$900 billion fund to be extended as financial aid to Chinese firms exploring and or engaging in infrastructure and development projects in other countries.

Zimbabwe could take a cue from the Chinese way of doing business.
The Southern African country has scope to benefit more from the Chinese, already in the country, if it addresses issues such as corruption, which President Mugabe has repeatedly spoken against as stifling economic growth. Graft has stalled Chinese investments in key areas such as energy, transport and water infrastructure. Several Sino-Zimbabwe projects have been completed at unreasonable costs as project implementers inflate receipts.

Background to OBOR
Historically, China had what it is known as the Silk Road, a network of trade routes with other countries established during the Han Dynasty.
The network of routes helped China trade silk and build cultural ties with India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, Rome and Mediterranean countries around 1453.

Nearly 500 years later, the Chinese are seeking to ride on the existing good relations with their traditional trading partners and further bring in new players through OBOR. The initiative seeks to link China’s trade partners through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe; as well as maritime port facilities on the African coast, pushing up through the Suez Canal in Egypt and into the Mediterranean.
Motive

In the last 30 years, China has grown from being a poor agri-based economy into a global manufacturing powerhouse.
It has adopted a model of local investment, production and exporting to developed markets, which has worked well.
The drive comes at a time developing nations need huge investment but simply cannot find the money for it.

China is ready to satisfy the need.
In that cause, China has since 2011 signed at least 12 free trade agreements with countries such as Singapore, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Iceland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

A further seven pacts with Japan, Korea, Australia, Sri Lanka, Norway, Gulf Cooperation Council and are at various stages of progress. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Head International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Vice-Chairperson Wang Jiarui says: “The One Belt, One Road Initiative would help promote the economic prosperity of the countries along the route as well as regional economic co-operation.”

He made the statement while addressing the opening session of the 2015 Media Co-operation Forum on One Belt, One Road held in Beijing China a fortnight ago.

“It will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between different civilisations, and promote world peace and development. It is a great undertaking that will benefit people around the world,” he added

The Africa Puzzle
The recent forum hosted at least 160 senior media personnel drawn from some 60 countries. It sought to explain the OBOR initiative and get buy-in from on how best to report on the projects in targeted countries.

The OBOR route, it was said, would targeting Kenya’s Port of Mombasa, before moving up to Egypt’s Suez Canal, which was recently expanded.
However, it is Africa’s partial inclusion to the route that has left critics with questions rather than answers.

Renmin University International Relations and Strategic Studies Professor, Shi Yinhong, believes China can do more to show that its motives are driven by friendship. But addressing African journalists in Beijing before the forum, China NGO Network for International Exchanges Mr Shi Guohui said the Chinese were being driven by mutual co-operation in Africa.

“Like President Xi has emphasised, there will be no interference in the internal affairs of other countries, no increase to the so-called sphere of influence and we do not strive for hegemony or dominance. Africa and China have always enjoyed cordial relations and the countries will feed off the Belt initiative.”

China is now the second-largest economy after the United States, and number one is firmly within its sights. The Asian giant says it is just rolling out the red carpet with no strings attached.

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