Despite Western criticism of Chinese investment practices in Africa, Rwandan President Paul Kagame says China’s bringing Africa exactly what it needs. But what should we make of China’s willingness to do business in countries with dubious human rights records?

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has made headlines around the world for praising China’s investments in Africa and criticising Western countries for doing little to improve the lot of the Africans. President Kagame said the Chinese are helping Africa develop, while Western nations and firms have polluted the continent. 

Chinese development
China has invested more than 400 million US dollars in Africa since 2006, mostly in infrastructure improvements, such as building roads and government buildings. This is in sharp contrast with Western efforts which have mainly included remittances from Africans living abroad and foreign development aid.

There is reason to question whether development aid has done enough to improve living conditions in Africa over the long term. But critics in the West point out that China could be undermining the promotion of human rights in Africa with its willingness to do business in countries where human rights abuses are commonplace.  Nevertheless, President Kagame says China has the right formula:

“The Chinese bring what Africa needs: investment and money for governments and companies. I would prefer the Western world to invest in Africa rather than handing out development aid.”


Human rights
Perhaps the most significant criticism of Chinese investment efforts in Africa is the claim that China is not doing enough to promote human rights in African countries. Beijing has a non-interference policy when it comes to African governments.

This means it is willing to conduct business in countries like Sudan without pressing the government there to improve human rights for its citizens. But is fair for Western nations to criticise China? Dr Klaas van Walraven, researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, points out that Western countries have similar arrangments with oppressive regimes in other parts of the world.

“If you compare this debate to Western behavior vis a vis say other countries in the Middle East, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia... the United States has quite important ties with both regimes which have actually terribly bad human rights records.”


Strategic interests
In May, China announced it would pump an additional two billion US dollars into its state-run Africa investment fund. That decision has increased Western calls for Beijing to use its influence to press for more respect for human rights across the African continent. But Dr Van Walraven says the West’s decision to take this stance is calculated:
 
“... the West maybe can afford to put human rights and good governance high on the agenda as far as sub-Saharan African countries and economies are concerned because the West, since the end of the Cold War, decided that sub-Saharan Africa is relatively less important to its strategic interests.”