Friday, April 27, 2007

Price for Chinese " Go-Out" Policy

The Oganden National Liberation Front, an ethnic Somali group had stormed a chinese-run oil field in eastern Ethiopia at dawn, killing 74 chinese and Ethiopian workers and destroying the facility.
With more chinese companies' " going-out" to Africa, chinese investment and involvement in Africa can not be simply defined as business-to-business cooperation as Chinese government asserts and expects.
First, Dafur is a good example. Huge oil benefit makes chinese ambivalent over the UN resolution on Sudan. This time, the Oganden National Liberation Front protested against Ethoipian government by attacking chinese company, which is ostensibly well functioned since its 10-year-operation outside China. By doing so, Oganden National Liberation Front can reach its aim " effectively", because as early as the beginning of this year, this organization declared "untolerence towards any foreign investment which is profitable for Ethiopian government." So we can clearly see the chinese capital's influence over politics in Africa in an indrect way. Besides, there is a new voice in African countries that Chinese is practicing new colonization, although Chairman Hu and new foreign minister Yang reject it confirmedly.
As a country led by Marxism, China deems " capita" is the root of all evil causing exploitation and colonization. What is intersting is Robert J. Barro affirms that China is the most capitalist country in the world. No matter whether China is communist, capitalist, or socialist, chinese " go-out" will face challege and there is a serious warning that " capital" in Africa will take " new colonization".

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