Wednesday, March 16, 2011

What’s China doing in Africa (including Libya) and to the climate?


China may now be the world’s second-biggest economy, but some of its provinces by themselves would rank fairly high in the global league. This map from a recent Economist shows the nearest equivalent country. For example, Guangdong’s GDP (at market exchange rates) is almost as big as Indonesia’s; the output of both Jiangsu and Shandong exceeds Switzerland’s.

Elsewhere, China in Africa author Deborah Brautigam examines recent Chinese efforts to construct a series of official economic cooperation zones in Africa. These zones are a central platform in China’s announced strategy of engagement in Africa as ‘mutual benefit’.

She discusses China and Libya. What does China want and how is it reacting to the crisis? Answer – not always as the stereotypes would suggest. She also links to a piece by Xan Rice at the Guardian with some nice interviews with Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, whose voice is seldom heard.

See full Article.