Reflections of an African's Visit to China

(If these guys are 3rd World, then what is Africa? nth World I guess)

Olufemi Anthony, 03/2002

I just came back from a week's visit to Hong Kong, and later Shanghai.
Jarray, if dem be Third World, then Africa nor be Third but nth World, chai!!

There is nothing I could get in New York City that I couldn't get in Shanghai. I have to say this, Africa is not even in the game, or is not even aware that the game is being played with respect to development. My feeling on this trip was one of deep pain and sadness, as I looked at what the Chinese are doing, and what they have achieved in about 20 years since they started their open door policy. I reflect on the fact that at independence, these Asian tigers were at the same level of development as our home countries, and can only conclude that most political leaders in Africa should all be tried for high treason by the people they purport to lead. High treason because I do not feel the cause is ignorance but simply wickedness and yes, evil.
Our political leaders cannot claim ignorance of development because they travel to these countries, they cannot claim to be resource-disadvantaged when compared to places like China and Japan, their only claim to fame is incompetence and corruption.
It seems to me that it is now that China is undergoing it's "Great Leap Forward", as Mao Zedong once said.

I attended some courses at the Hong Kon Univ. of Science and Technology for the 1st 3 days of my trip. One class I took which was 3 hours long was on the impact of WTO entry on the Chinese economy, and one of the most poignant moments for me was when the professor pointed out that labor in Africa was cheaper than in China but China attracts substantial inward investment but not us to make the point that cheap labor is not the only condition for attracting investment. So, what are these conditions that have made China such a magnet, while Africa is not?

"As long as Africa dey suffer, Africa nor unite, No freedom, No Justice, we go hear Pansa-Pansa..." Fela Kuti , Pansa-Pansa

IMO, these are China's strengths - some of them man-made, others natural, in ascending order of importance.

Contributions of overseas Chinese people's wealth and skills.
Huge population
Huge cheap labor market
Huge consumer market to spur demand
Large, well-educated workforce
A Political leadership that is focused on leading the Chinese people to greatness.

So lets analyze the factors listed above, viz-a-viz China and one or two African countries as examples. Note that I have not listed natural resources - the most important factors IMO, are related to the country's people. Africa has natural rersources but yet is an economic basket case.

Factors 3 and 4 only occur as a result of Factor 2. Many political economists have often pointed out that Africa's burgeoning population are a reason for the poor state of the continent's economies, but China shows that such a large population can be used as an asset, rather than a liability. After all, Africa's population of around 650 million is half of that of China's home population of around 1.3 Billion. Huge populations are not an excuse - the fact that African countries are getting poorer as their populations grow is not a causal relationship - rather it is a symptom of the failure of African governments at achieving any significant eceonmic growth.

'Dat mean to say you nor dae for Africa at all. If you dey for Africa you go know plenty; about water, foodooo, houseee, lighteee...' Fela Kuti, Original Sufferhead

Political and Economic Development

Call them, commies if you may, but these guys at the top in China are smart. They have figured out in this era of globalization capital follows stability and good governance. "Democrazy" is not a pre-condition for inward investment or development. In fact, in China's case, full democracy may be sand in the gears of China's great leap forward. Case in point - Russia tried to reform its political system first, before its economic system, and now you have a chaotic situation where the country is run by oligarchs and the Russian version of La Cosa Nostra. Or for that matter India, which has been a democracy for 50 years, yet now lags China in development terms.
Mr. Bush's recent lectures on democracy and freedom not withstanding, the Chinese government seem to have gotten it right - develop the economy first, we'll talk about politics later. The problem in Africa is that one-party systems have led to stagnation, and the system has not reformed itself unlike that in China - with the ascent of Deng Xiaoping after the death of Mao. This begs the question - why did it happen in China but not in Africa? My opinion on this issue is that Africans may have some deep cultural flaws - such as the big man syndrome - but this opens up a whole can of worms that are better left to another essay. Secondly, they may be communists, but the Chinese have reformed their system and no longer have a president for life since the days of Mao, and so the system experiences change from within. Zhang Zhemin is scheduled to step down later this year to be replaced by Hu Jintao.

But I digress here. It seems obvious to me that Factor 6 has played a very significant part in achieving China's Great Leap Forward. The Chinese people are lucky; they have a totalitarian goverment, we all agree, but one that is focused on achieving greatness for their people. There is an implicit compact between the Chinese people and their government : deliver economic growth and you (the government) can keep control. This situation will last as long as China keeps its present rate of development; once its population attain a certain standard of living, the populace will start advocating for more political rights. Thus China will follow the path to political reform exhibited by other Asian tigers - South Korea, Taiwan. It will be an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary process. This is ample evidence to me that "democrazy" is not a prerequisite for development. But how does all this relate to our motherland? Is this a model we can follow? Alas, the answer is no. For there are no benevolent, sane, sensible despots like the present day Chinese Communists in Africa. Note the three adjectives used. There may have been one or two that satisfied the first two descriptions - benevolent and sane, but not sensible. Nyerere, Nkrumah, Kaunda come to mind. Mandela may be the one exception. But that is all. How many of our post-independence despots have recognized that their time is up and stepped down voluntarily?

This suggests to me that the Asian model is not one that Africa is in a position to follow. This leads to the only viable alternative, IMO, which is a democratic dispensation. One party states have failed to lead us to the promised land of development - instead those systems result in stagnation, ossification and underdevelopment.

"Crazy Demo, demonstration of crase, Democrazy..." - Fela Kuti, Army Arrangement

Human Capital

A huge labor and consumer market means that China becomes an attractor for inward investment from Western companies. But as I have stated previously, that only tells part of the story. African countries like Nigeria exhibit the same chracteristics.
This brings us to Factors 4 and 5 - a large well-educated workforce, which China has developed, and a stable political leadership that has the interests of its people at heart, which has been discussed previously.

China recognized that achieving its Great Leap Forward required maximally utilizing its greatest asset - human capital. Thus it has invested in a fairly decent education system, and it has achieved a critical mass of its population that are well educated and possess the technical skills necessary to develop the country. The Chinese population is so huge that achieving that its labor pool can be regarded as infinite, and one that cannot be ignored by international capital that is relentlessly seeking sources of cheap labor.

But, again the government is smart. They don't just let these MNC's come in willy-nilly but require a commitment on their part to enter into joint ventures and implement technology transfer. Thus the system is self-perpetuating. The MNC can't afford to ignore the huge, educated labor force, so it enters the market in a joint venture, and contributes technology in exchange, which then helps educate more Chinese workers and so on. No MNC can own more than 49% of an enterprise in a joint venture. Also, the government requires that the company invest in assets on the ground in China, so the MNC can't just pack up it's bags and repatriate capital out of the country. Even with WTO entry, I doubt that the Chinese will allow easy repatriation of capital. Why then, do MNCs keep on coming? China has created human capital endowments that are hard to resist. If the Americans don't come, the Europeans will. If not the Europeans, then the Japanese.

"Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go..."
- Fela Kuti, International Thief Thief

Imagine if Nigeria, (nooffence to my Nigerian friends) with it's population of 120 million were able to adequately channel it's relatively large population as China is doing? They could be the engine for growth for the rest of the ECOWAS region. Why can't we follow this model? Alas, lack of Factor 6 comes into play.

Overseas Human capital
There are an estimated 300 million overseas Chinese all over the world - in Asia, North America and Europe and the government is making an effort to encourage them to return home and contribute their technical skills and financial resources. For example, one company I visited, SMIC - Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation was started by two Chinese American professors who have gone back to China. With government backing, they have set up the first foundry for the manufacturing of semiconductors in China. Why can't our African governments do the same?

Conclusions

Despite my rather gung-ho observations of China and its "Great Leap Forward", I acknowledge that there are still huge problems, as in any system. For example in such a system, corruption is endemic. But, unlike Africa, it is not completely preventing economic progress, and officials don't commit such acts with complete impunity. Then there is also the prickly issue of human rights. But I am willing to speculate that most Africans would gladly exchange their governments with one like that of China. At least they are delivering substantial economic growth, guarantee stability and have the interest of their country at heart. They are moving forward and we are not. This trip to China made me think of the wasted opportunities since independence and made me sad and angry at the same time. Unless we get serious about solving our political problems, Africa will always be an economic basketcase, weak and vulnerable from within and without.

"For overseas, where I see
Communication organize
Agriculture organize
Education organize
Electric organize
For Africa my house I don see
Communication disorganize
Agriculture disorganize
Education disorganize
Electric disorganize... "
- Fela Kuti, Upside Down

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