History of Sino-African Relations

10th Century to 1979

Jan. 2006 Hu Jintao visit to AfricaNov. 2006 Hu’s eight-point proposal supporting African development• Double 2006 assistance by 2009• $5 billion loans and credits next 3 years• $5 billion to support Chinese companies to invest in Africa• Construct conference center for AU• Cancel debts owed by indebted poor countries• zero tariff export items to China increase from 190 to over 440 from

least developed countries• Set up 3-5 Sino-African trade and economic zones• Send 100 Chinese experts and train 15,000 Africa professionals on areas

of agriculture, health, education, science and technology• Build 100 rural schools and 30 anti-Malaria centers, etc.

European and American Reactions

Jennifer Brea’s 2006 article, “China’s New Scramble for Africa”

BBC’s Adam Blenford’s 2007 seies “China in Africa: Friend or Foe?”

• China’s ravenous demand for raw material and markets

• Exploitation of African workers• Cheap Chinese imports devastated

African labor• Sustain its economic expansion by

turning Africa into a sphere of influence (similar to the Age of Imperialism)

• Interfere with other countries’ internal affairs

• Selling weapons to corrupt regimes• Offering an “alternative” model of

development

China’s Response

Use “soft power” and historical links to justify it presence in AfricaYes and NoYes: Chinese presence in Africa dates back more than 600 yearsYes: China is employing “soft power”No: there is no connect between Chinese presence in Africa centuries ago

and Chinese presence there todayDifferences then and now1. International circumstances2. Economies of medieval China and China today3. Motives and objectives

Earliest Chinese Knowledge of Africa

Standard view: Zheng He’s seven voyages, 1405-1433

Teobaldo Filesi, China and Africa in the Middle Ages

J. J. L. Duyvendak’s “China’s Discovery of Africa”

Chinese coins and porcelain from the later Tang and Song (9th-13th C.) found in Africa

Chu Ssu-pen’s early 14th century Mongol Atlas include a clear delineation of the African continent

Zheng He’s Seven Voyages 1405-1433

http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=10387

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature2/index.htmlNational Geographic, July 2005

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/the.admiral.zheng.he.htmSaudi Aramco World, July/August 2005 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sultan/explorers2.htmlNOVA Online: “Ancient Chinese Explorers” Youtube.

Seven Voyages of Zheng He (1371-1433) from 1405-1433

No debates that he made these voyages Navigator Number of Ships Number of

CrewZheng He (1405 - 1433) 48 to 317 28,000Columbus (1492) 3 90Da Gama (1498) 4 ca. 160Magellan (1521) 5 265

Historical nautical chart of Zheng He

Comparing Columbus’s Santa Maria to the largest of Zheng He’s ships

Pillar-shaped tomb at Mambrui near Malindi, Kenya. Blue and white Chinese dishes are still embedded in the side.

Gift brought back to the emperor from one of Zheng He’s voyages 1415

Why?

I. “Conspiracy theory”:Yongle emperor (1360-1424, r. 1402-1424)Launch coup against nephew (Jianwen

emperor, 1377-1402, r. 1398-1402)The young Jianwen emperor escaped overseasProblems: 1. Did this require 300 ships and 30,000 men?2. Why did these voyages continued for

another decade after Yongle’s death3. How did the nephew make his way to AfricaII. Desire for prestige and gloryIII. Desire to expand trade

Overseas trade continued to grow since the late TangImportant element of Song economy

IV. Naval power

Sino-African Relations 17th-Early 20th Century

Importation of Chinese laborers to AfricaAfrican worker undesirableConflict between African and Chinese

laborersImproved relationship beginning 20th

centuryThrown together by European contemptChinese provided important service to AfricansAwakening of political consciousness

Li LisanW. E. B. DuboisMarcus Aurelius Garvey

Sino-African Relations, 1949-1979

The Cold WarPreoccupied with domestic problems from 1949-1954Political objectives 1. Gain allies against US and SU2. Secure international recognition and China’s position against Taiwan

1954-1960“Five Principles of Mutual Coexistence” Zhou Enlai and Jawaharlal

Nehru1. Mutual respect for territorial integrity2. Non-aggression3. Non-interference4. Equality and mutual benefit5. Peaceful coexistenceExtended to relations with other states

Bandung Conference April 18-24, 1955

First tentative link with Africa1. Of 29 nations that attended, only 6 were from Africa2. Some African attendees pro-Western3. Some had yet to gain independenceNehru, Nkrumah, Nassar, Sukharno, and Tito

Post Bandung late 1950s

Growing rift between China and SUMao’s conceptualization of “intermediate

zone” “Third World”More active engagement with AfricaAlliance of Third World states against the

hegemony of the First and Second WordsImproving Chinese position with newly

independent African nationsParticipation in conferences in Africa

Active Engagement

Ignoring “Non-interference”7/26/1956 Suez Canal Crisis Offered to send 280,000 volunteers to

assist Egypt1957-1962 Algerian independenceChina issued propaganda on behalf of

anti-French rebelsConstruction projectsTanzam RRBridge in Sierra LeoneClinic in Zanzibar

1960s

Increased exchanges, both official and cultural

Long-term viewTwo stages process:

Anti-imperialistSocialist revolution

China as “educator”Solidify China’s position in Africa

Sino-African Relations during Cultural Revolution, 1966-1979

Major set backsCoup in Ghana—overthrow of Nkrumah 1966Red Guard rampage in summer 1967“Bizarre Chinese provocation”Up-swing from 1968

Conclusion

Historical links between China and Africa tenuous at bestSino-African relations during the Maoist period:

influenced by Cold War politicsConsistent “anti-imperialist ideology”Successes tempered with failures