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3 SPEAKING
FREELY A dangerous continental
drift By M A Orona
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
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WASHINGTON - Mention
the name Zheng He in China and you're bound to see
ordinary Chinese citizens swell with a sense of
pride. The name of the most famous Chinese
seafarer, who is believed to have circumnavigated
the globe and almost single-handedly extended the
might, power and influence of the Middle
Kingdom during the Ming
Dynasty, is known to almost every Chinese, adult
and child alike.
Zheng He is credited in
Chinese history books for making seven voyages to
the distant lands of India, Indonesia, the Persian
Gulf, Bangladesh and Africa. During a voyage to
South Asia, Zheng He extended his route and made a
trip to East Africa, where he gathered new and
exciting spices and a unique collection of beasts,
including lions, leopards, ostriches and zebras,
or what the Chinese termed "celestial horses". At
the age of 62, Zheng He made his final voyage for
the emperor, but by then he had firmly established
China as a major sea power.
Almost 600
years after Zheng Hu's voyage to Africa, the
Chinese government has made a dramatic political
return to that continent, to carry away not furry
beasts but a commodity more vital to the existence
and stability of the Middle Kingdom - oil.
"Peaceful co-existence",
"multipolarization" and "harmonious world" are
terms that senior Chinese leaders use repeatedly
during press briefings with members of the
international media to describe their view of an
international community based on political and
economic symmetry. The message coming from
President Hu Jintao, just like his predecessor
Jiang Zemin, is similar in that China intends to
stay on message and forge partnerships with other
nations. Such terms and political soundbites are
indeed gaining the attention of the international
community.
The target audience for such
clearly defined politically appealing language is
obviously geared toward representatives of
developing countries, most notably those in the
African continent. Members of the same audience
are being lured by language focused on
Sino-African cooperation.
Last November's
China-Africa summit caught news headlines around
the world. During the summit in Beijing, which was
attended by 48 African leaders and senior
government officials, Hu pledged to extend US$5
billion in loans and credit to African nations and
wipe off past debt. Over the past year,
China-Africa trade topped off at $40 billion and
is expected to reach $100 billion in the next
seven to 10 years.
China has also pledged
to double its aid to Africa by 2009. While the
news may have stunned some political analysts, the
average China watcher should not have been
surprised in the least, as Beijing has been
courting African nations and other developing
countries for the use of minerals and resources in
exchange for political cover and military
hardware.
This month's trip to eight
African countries by Hu is the third to the
continent by a senior Chinese leader in just over
a calendar year. At the conclusion of Hu's African
visit, the total number of countries visited by
Chinese leaders in the past year will be more than
20.
The concept of China forging strong
ties with developing nations is nothing new.
Almost from the very inception of the People's
Republic of China in 1949, the government was
reaching out to developing nations, most of which
were still under colonization but struggling for
self-determination. In 1952, China and India
agreed on a set of principles for peaceful
bilateral relations that would later become the
foundation of the historic Bandung Conference.
In 1955, the Bandung Conference brought
together nearly 30 countries throughout Asia and
Africa to address the question of
self-determination and call for greater
cooperation between states in the areas of
politics, science, business and education.
At the center of the conference was China
and its most prolific diplomat, Zhou Enlai. After
the conference, Zhou made numerous trips aimed at
forging ties between China and developing nations,
including those in Africa. During this time Zhou
made a three-month trip to Africa, where he
visited 10 nations and made numerous public
statements that the continent was ready for
development, of which China would be a strong
supporter.
What is different this time is
that China has the ability to follow through on
its promise.
A new Africa - a new China
In October 2001, the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD) was adopted by
African leaders. The birth of NEPAD and the
formation of the African Union, which replaced the
Organization of African Unity, go hand in hand
with the development of the continent.
This new partnership is a commitment among
African leaders to place Africa on the road to
sustainable development, political stability, good
governance and human-rights reform. Among the
various goals listed in the NEPAD charter are
collaboration
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