China and Investment in Africa |
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Washington, DC
On March 29th, the Committee held a general members program on the subject of China's Investment in Africa. Featured speakers included, World Bank Africa region specialist, Harry Broadman and the Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Zheng Zeguang. The discussion was moderated by Peter Lewis, the Director of Africa programs at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University. Participants included members from both the business sector and civil society.
Dr. Broadman discussed some of the findings of his recent research into Chinese investment in Africa. His research found that contrary to popular opinion, the rising Chinese middle class was creating a demand for more than just raw materials, particularly light manufactures, textiles, and tourism.
His research is an attempt to answer some critical questions about Chinese investment, including:
- What are the factors that determine why some sub-Saharan countries are able to attract more investment than others?
- What are the policy levers that can maximize the development benefits and minimize the costs?
Dr. Broadman found four key factors:
- At-the-border trade investment policies
- Behind-the-border market conditions
- Between-the-border factors
- Complementarities between investment and trade
He concluded by stating that Chinese investment could represent a second chance for Africa, but emphasized that its success will depend on the ability of African countries to exploit South-South trade.
Minister Zheng discussed Chinese policy towards Africa. The Chinese government strongly believes that the relationship must be mutually beneficial. He also discussed the Chinese people-to-people exchanges and medical assistance given to African countries.
Minister Zheng addressed some of the misperceptions of Chinese involvement. He pointed out that last year oil exports to China were only 8.7% of the total, compared to 36% and 33% to the EU and the US respectively.
In the Q&A session following the presentations, Minister Zeguang also addressed the environmental concerns expressed by some members. He explained that as a new market economy with young companies, the social responsibility component is a new idea for Chinese businesses. However, as sustainability is one of the goals of the Chinese government within China itself, he predicts that the continued education of the Chinese private sector will lead to better results.
Audio Transcript:
Use player above to listen now or right-click on the following link and select "Save as.." to download the audio file to your computer.
- China & Investment in Africa [MP3, 78MB]
Presenter Slides:
- Dr. Harry Broadman's Presentation Slides [PDF, 798KB]
