China’s Africa scramble finds welcome in Kenya
Raphael Tuju, Kenya’s foreign minister, leans forward in his chair wagging his finger in exasperation. The issue arousing Mr Tuju’s passionate body language is the increasingly high profile, controversial and burgeoning relationship between China and resource-rich Africa.
“I find it outrageous that this question of China keeps coming up, especially in the international domain, when it is in the interests of Kenya to work on strengthening relations with China,” he tells the Financial Times in an interview. “Most of the world is doing it and I find it awkward when western partners take issue with that.”
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But to others, closer ties between China’s roaring economy and the world’s poorest continent represents a worrying trend.
Critics fear Beijing will pour money into conflict-ridden countries with dire human rights records simply to procure raw materials to fuel growth, citing examples such as Zimbabwe and oil-rich Sudan.
By doing so, China helps prop up dictatorial regimes while reducing the leverage of the west and efforts to link development aid to good governance, the critics argue. Some also question whether Africa is being exploited in a one-sided relationship: selling off national treasures while opening itself up to cheap
