A piece on Forbes website mentions why China considers Africa
as the next superpower. For instance, Africa is young whereas the rest of the
world is graying, and any strategic thinking about the 21st century must take
this into account.
The same article goes on that “Add to this Africa’s steadily
improving situation with regard to governance (there are still many problems,
but steadily less war, steadily more free elections, and so on), and a
technological landscape and future that will allow Africa to leapfrog many aspects
of the rich life that the rich world takes for granted. And national resources
are just icing on the cake.
"As is frequently remarked upon, and as a book review in this
week’s Economist touches upon, China has a very deliberate and ambitious
strategy of investment in Africa. The old categories of “neocolonialism” miss
the point. So does the remark that China is only interested in Africa’s natural
resources in order to fuel its own manufacturing-driven growth and put its
strategic eggs in more than one basket."
Even as the Forbes piece
remains optimistic about Africa’s future, the question is whether Africans themselves
are ready to take advantage of the opportunities in their own continent, or
will it be a second scramble for Africa, leaving Africans as mere bystanders.
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