Sino-African Relations: Some Solutions and Strategies to the Policy Syndromes

Abstract

We survey about 110 recently published studies on Sino-African relations; put some structure on the documented issues before suggesting some solutions and strategies to the identified policy syndromes. The documented issues classified into eight main strands include, China:targeting nations with abundant natural resources; focusing on countries with bad governance; not hiring local workers; outbidding other countries by flouting environmental and social standards; importing workers that do not integrate into domestic society and living in extremely simple conditions; exhibiting low linkages between her operations and local businesses; exporting low quality products to Africa; and the emergence of China hindering Africa's development.

Fighting terrorism in Africa: evidence from bundling and unbundling institutions

“…Whereas the Washington Consensus prioritizes political governance, the Beijing Model places more emphasis on economic governance (Asongu 2016a). Within this framework, there is an evolving stream of literature sympathetic to the perspective that short-term governance priorities are needed to resolve Africa's poverty tragedy (Asongu and Ssozi, 2016;Asongu 2016b). Beyond this narrative on paradigm shifts, some indicators of good governance cannot be effectively measured without some employment of preliminary techniques to bundle governance variables into composite indicators.…”

A Development Consensus Reconciling the Beijing Model and Washington Consensus: Views and Agenda

“…Hence, the exploitation of 'African suspicion' of some Western double standards by China to further her footprint into the continent is politically correct (Asongu & Aminkeng, 2014). The plethora of literature sustaining this school of thought include, inter alia: Drogendijk & Blomkvist (2013, p. 75), Wissenbach (2009, p. 662), Ovadia, 2013, p .233), Carmody & Owusu (2007, p. 504), Lin & Farrell (2013, p. 85), Gu (2009, p. 570 Arabia that is similar to China's foreign policy and, France's foreign policy in Africa which has not been characterized by her cherished values of equality, fraternity and liberty Asongu & Ssozi, 2014). Therefore, based on the above, both the WC and BM are needed in Africa.…”

“…Hence, the two thoughts motivating this school are: (1) the dominant models presented to Africa are the WC and BM and; (2) Western nations are no 'less neocolonialist' compared to China (Asongu, 2014c;Asongu & Ssozi, 2014). According to this strand, China is using the very rules of free market competition established by the WC which according to most accounts have failed to deliver in Africa (Bartels et al, 2009;Asongu, 2012;Tuomi, 2011;Darley, 2012).…”

“…This bulk of literature has presented, among others: the short-term positive effects of the nexus (Duclos, 2011); decisions of investments that are based on resource-motivations and poor governance (Renard, 2011;Kolstad & Wiig, 2011;De Grauwe et al, 2012); the need for multi-polar development strategies ; push and pull factors motivating Chinese investments (Biggeri & Sanfilippo, 2009); hard political views of the nexus ; identification and explanation of the West's evolving suspicion of the nexus (Huliaras & Magliveras, 2008); debunking myths surrounding the nexus (Asongu & Aminkeng, 2013) and; suggesting strategies and solutions to the documented policy syndromes (Asongu & Ssozi, 2014).…”

The Role of Openness in the Effect of ICT on Governance

“…According to the description, the WC prioritises political governance whereas the BM places more emphasis on economic governance. Asongu and Ssozi (2016) have reconciled the BM and the WC by postulating that whereas political governance should be a priority in the long term, the BM should be a priority in the short run. This is essentially because economic governance delivers economic needs (like food, shelter, health and sanitation) while political governance delivers the right to vote (for the most part).…”