JEREMY STEVENS: Africa needs to take ownership of its relationship with China
Amid its declining popularity in the developed world, China’s strategic interests in Africa have become elevated. The Asian powerhouse defends aspects of the liberal order that benefit its economy and explicitly calls for a “new type of international relations”. China’s foreign policy aims to align its global influence with its economic power. By supporting African countries economically and financially, Asia’s largest economy is building a client base that will enable it to reshape the global order to better accommodate and promote its interests.
African policymakers must remain aware that trade and investment are tied to China’s own circumstances. Lazy ideas that China-Africa trade, investment and/or loans are somehow ring-fenced from fluctuations in China’s own circumstances are imprudent. Instead, African policymakers and businesses should anchor their expectations for China-Africa relations to the country’s domestic and international interests...
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