China, Africa, and globalization
training African workers to do specialized jobs, which is ironic considering the fact that research shows that financial concerns are very strong amongst prospective migrants according to internet forums. 13 Finally, the pay they actually provide can be so low that whilst they may be employed they end up spending the bare minimum on necessity goods, and give the rest of the little they have left to their family members. This has minimized the amount of disposable income that the African workers could have, and thus the growth that would come from theoretical increases in consumption is unlikely to have amounted to anything. Salaries can often be very close to minimum wage and in 2013 in Zambia, such low salaries lead to protests in a carbon mine resulting in the murder of the Chinese employer of those workers. 14 This goes to show that whilst Chinese citizens can sometimes contribute to the economies of the smaller African countries, it does not always benefit African workers themselves to the point where there are any significant improvements in living standards. Since the early 2000s many private Chinese companies have become involved in Africa, and a 2017 McKinsey report found that around 90% of Chinese firms in Africa are privately owned, 15 which is not to downplay Chinese state involvement in Africa, however that tends to come more in the form of the building of infrastructure and other large-scale projects. Generally, most African countries have potential for Chinese firms to assist the creation of markets for their goods and services, or to join in with what could be an already thriving market, otherwise they are going to these countries as they can be good places to set up factories for the production of their goods, or to make use of the abundant natural resources that can be found amongst many African countries, such as the estimated 200 million hectares of currently unused arable land which accounts for almost half of the world’s total, 16 which should make it a desirable investment location for private companies across the world. Through bringing in new Chinese companies that sell new goods and services to African citizens, they may increase standards of living within Africa as African citizens will have access to better standards of things such as private healthcare provided by medical companies that have come from China in the future. Furthermore, they are currently able to enjoy services from Chinese companies that they would have been otherwise unable to get. Obviously, Chinese companies would create new opportunities for African citizens to work within them provided these companies are open to the idea of allowing skilled and qualified African workers to come and work for them. According to the United Nations Agenda 2063, African countries are set to become ‘ prosperous ’ where African people will be able to enjoy ‘ a high standard of living, and quality of life ’ , 17 which suggests that there is even room formore Chinese high-end, financial service companies or other luxury brands to expand into African countries. Africa has already proven to be a good market for Chinese goods too, with sales of Chinese exports to Africa having doubled betwee n 2009 and 2015 from $47 billion to $106 billion, increasing 5% faster than China’s sales to anywhere else since 2010 at 14% year on year. 18 Chinese companies have helped contribute the necessary 13 Sullivan, J and Cheng, J. (2018) ‘Contextuali z ing Chinese Migration’, Journal of Asian and African Studies 53: 1173-1187. 14 Bruguière, P. Chinafrica: African workers share experiences at Chinese factories https://observers.france24.com/en/20120822-chinafrica-african-observers-share-experiences-working- chinese-companies-china-business-togo-cameroon-senegal [Accessed: 22/08/19]. 15 International Trade Centre (2018) Guide to Chinese private investment in Africa [Accessed: 22/08/19]. 16 The Economist https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/04/28/africa-has-plenty-of-land- why-is-it-so-hard-to-make-a-living-from-it [Accessed: 22/08/19]. 17 The United Nations, Agenda 2063 https://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/agenda2063.pdf [Accessed: 22/08/19]. 18 The Corner, Private Chinese Companies Primed For Success In Africa http://thecorner.eu/world-economy/private- chinese-companies-primed-for-success-in-africa/75096/ [Accessed 21/08/19].
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