Expert regrets China’s hold on terms of development

Expert regrets China’s hold on terms of development
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 30 June 2011, 04:00 CAT

MULTI-Facility Economic Zones are going to increase resentment and worsen strained relations between the Chinese and local people if they are not properly managed, says an expert at Sino-Africa relationship.

Nitesh Dullabh of the Johannesburg-based Beijing Axis said it was regrettable that China at the moment was dictating the terms of development of industrial parks – the Multi-Facility Economic Zones (MFEZs).

Dullabh said apart from China setting up MFEZs to improve its logistics chain and transportation modes, it was also owning these infrastructure modes as it increases its hegemony on the continent.

Dullabh said, “Owing to growing perception that MFEZs were for Chinese, you would see resentments, continuous infighting, FDI Foreign Direct Investments levels decreasing…I see more conflicts in the region. We need to have a greater say, greater input in these special economic zones, we need to dictate part of the agenda in terms of what are some of the manufacturing processes that need to take place, ‘how do we manage’ the logistics chain.”

Zambia is currently touting three Chinese inspired and dominated industrial parks with Chambishi MFEZ being pioneered by Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, the first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone declared by the Chinese government to be established in Africa.

About US $1 billion is already committed investments for the Chambishi MFEZ which frequently produces violent and near fatal relationships between Chinese bosses and Zambian workers.

Chambishi MFEZ is dominated by Chinese companies of the 14 firms licenced in the tax-free zone meant to boost value-addition to raw copper produced.

Dullabh said there was currently a disconnection between what China could offer and what Africa needed, a situation he said could be improved through better level of communication coordination.

He said the continued trend where China was plundering Africa’s natural resources while dumping its manufactured goods on the continent would have long-term negative impact on Africa.

“The large-scale impact is that there will not be much new employment growth in Africa, you would see a continuous need for Africa to buy from China, China would only get involved in the extractive industry without beneficiation,” he said.

China is Zambia’s fastest source of FDI, with Chinese investments currently estimated at US $2 billion, while projections point to a surge to US $3 billion in the next two years.

Dullabh said China’s strong hunger for Africa’s natural resources gave impetus for African governments to start dictating the terms under which they trade with Chinese.

“Some countries getting involved in telling China what they needed, we need to be more assertive in saying this is the type of investments we need, be it equipment or diversified area, not just mining,” said Dullabh.