Rethinking Why and How China Wins Hearts and Minds in Africa

Abstract

China is today the biggest development partner to Africa. To reduce the country’s growing influence in the continent, the western media is saturated with negative reports on how the people do business. The Chinese are said to be pursuing imperialist agenda and striking economic and political deals with corrupt and rogue regimes in Africa. This is believed to have corrosive effects on the growth of democratic governance in the continent. These criticisms notwithstanding, the influence of China in Africa has continued to grow. This paper tries to explain the paradoxical situation. African regimes work with the Chinese because the latter treat them with respect and tie no political conditionality to the support given to them. The Chinese also provide African political leaders with infrastructural support under liberal terms. The grassroots African peoples are also favourably disposed towards the Chinese because of their propoor policies and stances. They provide Africans with affordable phones and household appliances; they build roads, live amongst the people and work as equals with them at construction sites. The paper concluded on the note that the western criticism of China in Africa is more in the interest of the developed world than Africa. The western world is advised to treat Africans with better respect if it wants to enjoy the kind of influence that the Chinese are now having in Africa