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[The Chinese government] supports competent Chinese enterprises to
cooperate with African nations in various ways on the basis of the principle
of mutual benefit and common development, to develop and exploit
rationally their resources, with a view to helping African countries to
translate their advantages in resources to competitive strength, and realize
sustainable development. 5
China’s increasing role in Africa has spawned a breathtaking number of academic articles,
books, media reports, documentaries, and commentary. 6 At its best, this attention has
critically examined the positive and negative implications of this “going out” for Africans.
This includes China’s role in highly abusive states like Sudan and Zimbabwe, as well as
the greater access to cheap goods that Chinese exports often bring, though at times with
negative impacts on local production. At its worst, some publications have turned
unsupported assertions into fact and drastically overstated the size of Chinese investment
and its relationship to natural resource exploitation. Many publications have also treated
every “Chinese” company the same—and also as a representation of the Chinese
government—whether state-owned or run by a private Macau businessman. 7 At times, this
has been exploited by Western politicians and investors to create a false dichotomy
between “good” Western investment and “bad” Chinese investment. While there are
concerning patterns to Chinese employment practices, this should not malign or ignore the
positive potential for Chinese investment in improving economic conditions in Africa.
There is a growing body of research analyzing specific labor and human rights abuses by
Chinese employers abroad. The African Labour Research Network said in a 2009 report
that while there were differing labor conditions in Chinese-owned companies across
5 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), “China’s African Policy,” January 2006,
http://www.focac.org/eng/zfgx/dfzc/t481748.htm, accessed August 23, 2011.
6 For a few general pieces on China in Africa, see Firoze Manji and Stephen Marks, eds., African Perspectives on China in
Africa (Pambazuka Press, 2007); Serge Michel and Michel Beuret, China Safari: On the Trail of Beijing’s Expansion in Africa
(Nation Books, 2009); Robert I. Rotberg, ed., China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence (Brookings Institution Press, 2008);
Deborah Brautigam, China in Africa: What Can Western Donors Learn? (Oslo: Norfund, 2011); “The Chinese in Africa: Trying to
Pull Together,” The Economist, April 20, 2011; Giles Mohan, “China in Africa: A review essay,” Review of African Political
Economy, vol. 35 (2008), pp. 155-73; “China’s Influence in Africa: Implications for the United States,” The Heritage
Foundation backgrounder no. 1916, February 22, 2006; Stephanie Hanson, “China, Africa, and Oil,” Council on Foreign
Relations backgrounder, June 6, 2008; “When China Met Africa,” BBC Four, July 2010; “The Chinese Are Coming,” BBC Two,
February 2011; Justin Rowlatt, “China follows British footsteps to African wealth,” BBC News Online, September 23, 2010,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9023642.stm.
7 For a strong discussion of myths and realities related to Chinese investment in Africa, see Deborah Brautigam, The Dragon’s
Gift: The real story of China in Africa, January 2010. Brautigam also highlights common faulty reporting on China in Africa in
her blog, http://www.chinaafricarealstory.com/.
15 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011