Joshua Eisenman's China-Africa Trade Patterns

• China’s inroads into Africa come at the expense of Africa’s citizens. Says Bremmer, “The Chinese quid pro quo typically involves lots of Chinese content, lots of Chinese labor that they’re sending over to these countries to work, which hurts local unemployment issues. And of course, the availability of commodities, including food, to be exported to China. There’s sometimes a Faustian bargain in these countries.”

Africa has been and is one of the richest continents when it comes to their natural resources. The countries within it are some of the poorest. From the report of the African development report 2007: Natural resources for sustainable development in Africa it said one of the biggest reasons that Africa is so rich

Africa has been exploited for many years throughout the time of imperialism They have been oppressed by Europeans such as the Dutch and Portuguese But one especially active group were the British They had played a major role throughout history and specifically in Sierra Leone They had originally been exploited for their abundance of diamonds Though this period of imperialism has ended, the british has still left a mark in Sierra Leone As a result of the period of imperialism, Sierra Leone now participate in the use of child soldiers

The region is made up of 48 countries with a population of 973.4 million as correct of 2014 (The World Bank). Furthermore, over 60% of that demographic is under 30, showing promise for an increasing working age population. Africa can use this vast labour potential to increase GDP and therefore increase the wealth of the continent.

Ghana is gaining money from trading with China. They have gained $1.4 billion and 86.7 of their resources are going to China. Ghana has a lot of poverty, but also many places that are rich. Based on the ABC-Clio Solutions, China is 22.3% of the import partners. Imperialism in Ghana is different because some of the Chinese workers in Ghana are given negative attitudes and Cui Shoujun spent 3 months there investigating the workers. There are negative attitudes towards Chinese investment. In fact, views here are sharply divided. Ghanaian academics and government mostly welcome Chinese investment, believing it drives economic growth on the continent. But opponents point to negative factors such as political motivations, poor working conditions and a lack of respect for human rights, and this view is often expressed in the media. China is represented as not playing by the rules of the game and damaging Ghana’s economic

The sheer size of China alone makes it difficult to ignore but China is actively beginning to take on a key role in the world scene with its growing economy, vibrant culture, and rising sense of national pride. China is beginning to take on the role of helping developing nations and it is doing so with “an encouraging push from the Chinese government” (French 2). China has even become “Africa’s largest trading partner” because of the vast migration of Chinese people all across Africa. This migration of people to Africa not only benefits the Chinese, but many African countries are

Peace and stability has been affected by resource wars in the world. Failed states which are well endowed with natural resources lack the proper resource management strategies, a factor that leads to insecurity ( Mittelman, 2010). Many criminal groups have used the advantage of weak economic and political policies in failed resources to exploit natural resources. The proceeds from this illegal trading are used to stage wars and arm rebel groups. In return, when the rebel groups are economically empowered by the failed states, they perpetrate crimes which have global significance. For example, the resource wars in Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan have led to genocides. In addition, the diamonds in Sierra Leone and Angola have led to transnational bloodshed in the West African region as well as the Janjaweed group in Darfur used illegal oil proceeds to perpetrate civil wars that have claimed millions of life( Mittelman, 2010). Therefore, the lack of proper management of natural resources in failed states has compromised the traditional security concerns in the world.

But after colonialism, groups that could not get along were forced to live with each other or were pinned against each other in order for Europeans to snatch all the resources and colonize those people to use them for labor. We also know that from Africa extended one of the greatest, if not the greatest civilization of all time. Through countless historians and archaeological science and the pyramids testify to the fact that “the Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.” (as cited in Boyes, 2013). One of the oldest, most advanced and long lasting civilizations in human history was in Africa. In fact, some say that was the cradle of all other great civilizations. How is it that so rich a history and legacy of one civilization, let alone all the other empires and kingdoms that aren’t mentioned in history. Coming from that type of intellectualism and exceptionalism, Africa should not be doing as bad as it is. The terror and horror we see every single day as people almost seems like it far outweighs the glory of the past. The most interesting fact is that Africa has a wealth of resources, “the continent has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40% of the gold reserves, over 60% of the cobalt, and 90% of the platinum reserves.” (as cited in Boyes, 2013). Surely with resources such as these and so innumerous the people should be benefitting from the fact

What is the economic and financial impact from China on the economies of African Nations? I am curious to evaluate whether these economies are worse or better off then they may have been when the United States was the continents primary financer. I understand, for reason of social policy and

Conclusion: Is Chinese investment insufficient or will it create a positive difference in Africa economically and financially?

In present day African countries, there is an influx of diamonds that are supposed to drive the economy, but they often hinder the economy and cause vicious wars. Often times, these very diamonds fund the wars that are ultimately detrimental to African societies. The diamonds that are used to fund these fatal wars are given a term called “blood diamonds” because many people are killed and victimized for attempting to utilize their resources. As stated in the Economist, about 60% of the world’s diamond mines and leading diamond production sites are in Africa (Unknown 4).

Africa, also known as the motherland, is a phenomenal and unique place in the world like no other. The saying “motherland” refers to Africa as the founder of human civilization. As the origin of human existence, many problems occurred during the pre colonialist time period in which Africans were being traded for rare staples such as salt and gold. By eliminating the existence of Africans from their own country, a place of complete havoc was created. In effect, relationship fragmentation was created, trade with specific countries were destroyed and depopulation in Africa was at its all time nadir point.

Nowadays, the outlook of the global economy is clearly not optimistic, and there are so many severe issues have been plaguing the world economy in recent years. Such as potential asset bubbles, higher financial market volatility, weaker global demand, and deteriorating monetary and credit crisis, and falling of oil prices, and so on a series of troubles around the world. (World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 2016)Once when we discuss and analyse those economic problems, it is inevitable to associate with China’s slowdown. Indeed, since China entered WTO, China takes advantages of large population to develop the labour intensive industries like manufacturing to expand the relationship with the world by frequently international trade, as greater interaction and stronger cooperation between China and the world, Chinese economy is merged to the world economy and become an integral part of the global economy. Therefore, the Chinese slowdown is bound to affect the growth of world economy. So the question arises, why China slows down its economy? If exploring further to figure out why, one factor which cannot be ignored is the declining export. (China’s Export Decline Accelerates 2016) Thus, the study I concentrate on is to investigate the reasons of declining export in Chinese international trade.

All of the reviewed articles focused on the causes of Africa 's poverty. Dr. Houston (2009) pointed out that Africa has enormous amounts of minerals. Africa has world 's most bauxite, cobalt, industrial diamond, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals, vermiculite, and zirconium. Why can 't the Africans take advantage of these natural resources and increase the quality of life by utilizing and selling these precious minerals? It is the corrupted governments that prevent these minerals from being used by the Africans. All the authors agreed that in Africa, only the elite controls the resources. The upper-class people make profits from these resources, while the poor receive nothing. Also, many African countries are either going to wars or

Africa is one of the continents that produce an estimated $19 billion in gold per year and $6 billion in diamonds. But an unknown amount is laundered or siphoned each year for criminal purposes.