Much of what I have read about China’s courtship of Africa is shameful. There is a general perception that Africa is a defenseless child and China is a rich opportunist. Not true.
China does not have a culture of noblesse oblige and so does not feel obligated to wag its finger at Africa but rather do trade amorally. The Times nails it, “A neglected continent encounters a suitor with deep pockets and few demands.”
China cares only about business and business promises — contracts and agreements.
At the core, China is Confucian: it is a shame-based culture. To shame a business partner by wagging one’s moral finger or by withholding aid and business until wrongs are made right is not in the Asian culture. And in terms of relationships, it is good advice as well: people, countries, and continents, are what they are and will not change permanently unless they choose to. Unless there is a cultural shift.
Unless Africa’s underlying cultural code changes. Any changes that have ever happened successfully in Africa have been the result of real grassroots changes, such as South Africa. And even South Africa may revert, eventually.
I grew up in Hawaii and the West was always looking down its nose at Samoa. The perception was that they are lazy and stupid, that they steal and don’t work, that they’re hostile and aggressive.
Not true at all. Quite the contrary. Samoans are generous, family-oriented, happy, and smart people; unfortunately, culturally, they just didn’t dance to the tune of the West. The English were frustrated, and America is even moreso: where is the American work ethic? Where is the gusto?
The common perception of Samoans as being hostile is true enough, but only out of desperation. Samoans are proud people with a beautiful tradition when when young Samoan men in Hawaii are underemployed and left behind as amusing cultural artifact, that’s when Samoans get aggressive.
How to motivate? In Samoa, one doesn’t motivate, one collaborates. I believe the same may be said about Africa, too.
I have a feeling that China and Africa will really get each other.It will be more symbiotic than parasitic.
If I were to generalize, both nations are wolves in sheep’s clothing: tremendously proud people wrapped in a culture of modesty. Both cultures aggressively try to nail down protruding nails and tend to be terribly difficult for Westerners to read.
Here is a hint: Both cultures never say no to your face. All true negotiation needs to happen in the back channels. Anything you ask for will be given to you, although this can often be a trap in order to gauge your character and greed. Your true intent.
Consider everything to be an elaborate test to judge your true character. To shake out your true agenda. You will not be judged for what you do to others, but you will be either accepted or rejected based upon these meetings and your behavior.
How do I know this? Well, the Economist wrote, ” China helps African governments ignore Western nagging about human rights: its support has allowed Sudan to avoid UN sanctions over Darfur. And some Africans look on China as a development model, replacing the tough Washington Consensus with a “Beijing Consensus”: China’s economic progress is cited by statists, protectionists and thugs alike to “prove” that keeping the state’s grip on companies, trade and political freedoms need not stop a country growing by 8%-plus a year.” To the Economist, this is deplorable. The title of the article is, “Wrong model, right continent.”
How do I know, personally? Well, I am a lot like that, having grown up in Hawaii, which to this day acts this way. Folks will never be rude to your face, but if you offend, be ready for blowback: colder receptions, slower response, less outreach, poorer quality, and then — if you don’t get the hint and work to repair the relationship through generous concessions and gifts — alienation, rejection, and finally, destruction. No joke. Yes, I am a very large, very big, very white, Asian man, culturally speaking. Do I make more sense now? “Aha!,” you say.
I guess the West calls it Passive Aggressive. Unfortunately, a great amount of the globe works this way, including the South. Also, Arabia, Africa, and Asia. Ha!
Call it passive aggressive, call it shame-based. Truth is, it is called honor-based behavior by the locals.
I hate to say it, and know I will get a lot of heat from my friends, most of whom are going to change the world through their devotion to protecting and rehabilitating African children soldiers, but the secret to Africa is letting Africa be Africa. As a continent, Africa is wiggly. Africa just wants to be Africa and is essentially universally tribal and never really cottoned to the Nation State.
China will win in Africa because it knows what it wants, it is open with its intent, is willing to ask for what it wants, and will not make Africa feel ashamed, judged, or victimized, for energetically participating. I think that the two cultures are so alien to each other while still being from old cultures, cultures that, at any and all cost, still reward honor and smite insult.
In the end, the New York Times on behalf of Wenran Jiang says it better than I can, “African leaders see China as a new kind of global partner that has lots of money but treats them as equals,??? said Wenran Jiang, a political scientist at the University of Alberta who has studied Chinese-African ties. “Chinese leaders see Africa, in a strategic sense, as up for grabs.???
China is up for grabs because America and, for the most part, Western Europe, has abandoned Africa as a bad investment, both politically and financially. Africa is too much of a hot potato for investors, not just because of its volitility but because too many uninformed Westerners are making so much noise about perceived wrongs in Africa that many investors are unwilling to risk the exposure.
To be honest, there are much easier, less high-profile nations with which to do business than Africa. At least until Africa becomes less polarizing. Unfortunately, by that time, China will be Africa’s management company.
