Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
10 September 2024 | 12:10 p.m. SAST
2-minute read
10 September 2024 | 12:10 p.m. SAST
2-minute read
China pledged $51 billion at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which was held last week from September 4-6 2024 and aims to facilitate collaborative efforts to develop the African economy and improve its infrastructure.
The large investment is indicative of China’s rise to global power, Dr Wayne Malinga said on this week’s
.
“China is showing its strength within the global geopolitical spectrum in terms of ensuring that it’s able to be there for Africa, and also to provide a platform for Africa to be able to tap into its assistance,” said Dr Malinga, research manager at the Public Policy and Research Institute of Zimbabwe.
The FOCAC has yielded positive results for the partnership between South Africa and China, with President Xi Jinping having expressed an interest in importing more finished goods from South Africa.
The renewed scramble by countries in the global north for Africa’s natural resources brings to attention the vested interests of investors and ‘assistants’.
The presence of numerous trans- and multinational corporations on the continent serves to facilitate the exploitation of the continent’s resources, with China as the leader in extraction.
“China is leading in terms of mining activities and the extraction of natural resources,” Dr Malinga noted.
Many countries, including Zimbabwe, are rich in lithium, a mineral that is in high demand due to its use in meeting clean energy and decarbonisation objectives.
Countries in Africa have failed to establish manufacturing plants to process its raw materials, and Dr Malinga explained that Africa’s development and identity issues hinder its own success in utilising its natural resources to contribute to gross domestic product (GDP), improving the economy and addressing socio-economic challenges.
Meanwhile, the mpox outbreak is exacerbating the health crisis in Africa, with numerous reports of an upsurge in cases, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Children in eastern DRC are the most affected by the current outbreak, with overcrowded camps and poor hygiene conditions contributing to the rapid spread of the virus, while efforts to contain it face challenges due to limited resources.
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