DANNY HAIPHONG interview to AFRICOM WATCH BULLETIN
AWB: To what do you attribute the misconceptions about China in Africa?
Danny: The biggest misconception about China in Africa is the predominantly Western argument that China is the “new colonizer” in Africa. This is problematic on many levels. For one, China and Africa share a common history in that each has been on the receiving end of Western and U.S.-led imperialism for much of their modern existence. As Western colonial powers were colonizing and dividing Africa amongst themselves in the late 19th century, so too were these same powers occupying parts of China and fueling mass migration to the U.S. where racist laws were implemented to maintain their super exploitation and ultimate exclusion.
Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence for the claim of “colonialism.” Colonialism is the economic, political, and social domination of one nation upon another and is the engine of the Euro-American imperial project. None of China’s relations with Africa can be described as such. Does China control the monetary policy of 14 African countries as France does? Does China use its military and political system to control the governance structures of African societies? The answer is always no, but the Western and US corporate media have called China a “new colonizer” in Africa so many times it has been digested as truth.
DeborahBräutigamis the Director of the China and Africa Research Initiative at John Hopkins University, hardly an anti-establishment source of information. Yet her observations, based on field research into Chinese investment in Africa, demonstrate that much of the financial and economic relations between China and Africa serve a real infrastructure need and make up a small portion of the African continent’s overall debt portfolio. I would encourage readers to review this op-ed in The Washington Postand read her book “The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa.”
AWB: Are there connections between how China is viewed in Africa and America and the indifference to spike in anti-Asian violence in America?
Danny: Most definitely. Corporate media celebrity comedian Bill Maher expressed the connection clearly when, in a monologue berating the United States for focusing too much on social issues (identity politics) rather than “real problems,” he remarked that “China bought Africa.” China is viewed as an invading force and an all-powerful one at that. A Yellow Peril 2.0 has emerged where the Western populace is driven by the fear that the colonial spoils accumulated over the course of centuries of imperialist plunder are at risk of being taken by China. This fits nicely with the larger U.S.-led New Cold War at the center of the ruling class’ varied attempts to stabilize and defend the imperialist world order from ongoing decline through an intense but unsuccessful focus on stopping China’s economic growth.
Every day, Americans and Westerners are fed a daily dose of reasons to fear China in the corporate media. We are told China is invading Africa, stealing intellectual property and jobs, interfering in elections abroad, stifling freedom within its own borders, building up militarily in the South China Sea and on and on. This barrage of propaganda has spurred the largest dip in public opinion toward China since relations normalized between Washington and Beijing nearly fifty years ago. Such an intense atmosphere of Cold War racism and anti-communism coupled with a global pandemic and economic depression is bound to inspire the most reactionary and racist elements of society. We cannot understand the rise of violence toward people of Asian descent outside of this context.
AWB: What are some steps that those in Africa or America can do to reduce those misconceptions?
Africom Watch Bulletin (25) for more