Does China Own Africa?

By: Scott Nelson
Staff Writer

The Gulf News reported this morning that South Africa has barred the Dalai Lama from attending a peace conference there later in the week.

The reason? Officials cited their relationship with China.

For years here at the Global Affairs Council, we’ve noted that China has quietly but systematically enacted a policy of engagement with Africa. From Chinese emigration and small business ownership all the way to long range state-sponsored natural resource contracting; China is moving into Africa in a major way.

Today’s announcement by South African officials shows exactly how much influence China now exerts over the region.

Why should we care?

The future will depend more and more on Natural Resources, there’s simply no question about it. As the country that burns through natural resources faster than any other country, Americans should care where their next “fix” is going to come from.

And while we twiddle our thumbs, China has quietly sewn up large sections of the world that contain the very Natural Resources we’ll need in the future.

It may not be malicious, exactly. With over a billion citizens, China desperately needs natural resources in a major way. It’s not like they’re tying up those resources just so the United States can’t get them.

But the fact remains, malicious or not, the resources we need may not be available in the future.

For years the United States has systematically ignored all things African. It’s time we woke up, before it’s too late.

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March 23, 2009 | Filed Under China, Economics, World Analysis | Leave a Comment 

China Leader Hua Guofeng Dies Today At Age 87

By: John Alexander
Executive Director

Hua Guofeng, the communist leader who ruled China shortly as the Communist Party Chairman after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, died today at the age of 87 in Beijing.

Hua Guofeng was famous for his “Two Whatever’s” campaign, which directed the Party to:

   1. Uphold whatever policy decision Mao had previously made.
   2. Adhere to whatever instructions Mao had given.

The “Two Whatever’s” campaign was widely criticized by Deng Xiaoping at the 3rd Plenum of the 11th Central Committee in 1978 and ultimately used to push Hua out of power, giving rise to the reign of reformers led by Deng.

Before Mao died, he was notoriously quoted as saying of Hua; “With you in charge, I am at ease”. In an attempt to create his own cult of personality, Hua attempted to mimic Mao, affecting his same hair style, mode of dress, and mannerisms.

Before being ousted from power, Hua Guofeng famously arrested the “Gang of Four”, the group that led China through the Cultural Revolution and included Mao’s wife Jiang Qing.

Hua was notable for being one of the first Chinese leaders not to be purged, killed, or banished to a distant province upon his fall from power. He remained a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee until 2002. China’s state-run News Agency hailed him as a “loyal communist warrior”.

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August 20, 2008 | Filed Under China | Leave a Comment