China's Second Continent summary

For the last several years, Africa hasn't received much attention from the West. Few Western delegates pay regular visits, but Chinese politicians do, and often.

Countries across Africa are at a critical point right now. African economies are growing quickly and soon the continent as a whole will overtake China's growth rate. Africa's demographics are also changing: it is predicted that by 2050, there will be more people in Africa than in Asia.

There are currently over one million Chinese people living in Africa and they've built a strong network of contacts back home, encouraging ever more and more to make the same move. So what exactly is the appeal?

As the social situation in China deteriorates, many are starting to view Africa as their only hope. A lot of Chinese people who move to Africa want to establish new lives for themselves and their families and they can do that with greater ease if, for example, their sons marry African women.

It's not uncommon to hear Chinese migrants in Africa make racist statements like “blacks are lazy.” Africans, on the other hand, often complain that the Chinese are taking over their communities and lack basic respect for their culture. These prejudices exist for a number of reason.

One reason is that Chinese migrants are often uneducated and uninterested in their host cultures. Many of the migrants the author interviewed lacked basic knowledge about the African countries they were living in. They tended to know little about their cultures, sometimes not even knowing what language they spoke. Hao didn't even know which countries border Mozambique.

Mozambique is one of the most fertile countries in the world. Its soil is so rich that the jungle would take over cropland in a matter weeks if it wasn't kept at bay. Local tribes have cultivated this land for centuries, but many now feel the Chinese are stealing it.

Many territorial disputes like this one stem from legal problems and a disregard for the rights of tribes who use the land. In most Western countries, one has to buy land from the state, but in Mozambique, tribes have farmed for generations without having state-sanctioned ownership of their land.

Not all Chinese migrants are wealthy business owners. Many of them are used to what the Chinese call “eating bitter”: doing very hard work to sustain themselves and their families. The economic differences among Chinese migrants also have an effect on their relationships with the locals.

In Senegal, Chinese migrants have taken over nearly all of the country’s trade in recent years. As recently as 15 years ago, if you walked down the main streets of Dakar, you'd see a beautiful scene with small cafes and restaurants. The same area is now overrun with shops selling cheap mobile phones, jewellery and other tourist souvenirs that break right after you buy them.

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. The Malian government is highly corrupt, and often makes secret deals with the Chinese government. These deals don't benefit the local people at all – only the leaders’ themselves benefit.

The Chinese government often takes advantage of corrupt African governments in this way to secure more business deals and resources. Beijing hasn't established itself as a big creditor or business partner for Africa; rather, they have gained their influence through corrupt methods like paying off government workers to negotiate behind closed doors. They also don't involve any NGOs or other organizations that monitor negotiations and protect the interests of locals.

When you hear the word “empire,” you might imagine the once-sprawling political and colonial spheres of Britain or France. The Chinese government isn't using that strategy in Africa, but the scope of their control and influence is still starting to resemble that of an empire.

In the past, empires could only be established through force. European powers colonized Africa by swooping in with their militaries and asserting economic and political domination. They oppressed the locals, then took their resources and sent them away.