Beijing is widely expanding its role in Africa as an energy-resource extractor. Growth remains the priority of a country that wants a fast-expanding gross national product built on traditional economic development models as heavy industrialization and export-led growth. This bring to a growing and uninterrupted hunger for resources like oil and gas, copper, tin and iron (China consumes 31% of the world's coal, 30% of iron, 27% of steel, 40% of cement, 10 % of electricity). By 2045 China is projected to depend on import oil for 45% of its energy needs. The unexploited and politically fragile Africa, with its rich endowment of energy, minerals and other key resources, is seen as a special target. On one hand China, identifying itself with the developing world, with its “non-interference” is generous in aid, in cancellation of debt and in trade and investments (overall, in energy and mining sectors); on the other hand, most literature charge China's behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa with neocolonialism: a new invasion of the continent*. However, Beijing stress the “win-win” nature of China's engagement**, considering also that a slowdown in China's demand will have a direct impact on those African countries that base their economy on interactions with China.

In June 2003 Chinese President Hu jintao stressed that the Chinese Government will endeavor to a new Sino-African partnership based on long-term stability, equality and mutual benefit. China's ties with Africa are day by day growing. Chinese statistics shows that from 2001 to 2007 China's trade with Africa increased 681%***. China's top African trading partners by imports are Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Libya and Angola. Except South Africa, almost all per cent of the trading volume is crude oil. China target is to quadruple its economy between 2000 and 2020, needing more and more energy supplies****.

Energy and resource extraction is the most important China's relationship with Africa. Considering the Democratic Republic of Congo, a post-conflict country facing enormous reconstruction challenges, in 2007 the Congolese government and some Chinese state-owned enterprises signed a bilateral investment and trade agreement*****. It is the biggest financial agreement ever signed by China in Africa, granting the Democratic Republic of Congo a 6.5 billion USD concessional loan to finance infrastructure works such as railways and health facilities, based on the five work sites indicated as the central pillars of President Kabila development policy. Chinese assistance is expected in the form both of grants and interest free loans. Beijing will build or rehabilitate some 3,500 km of roads and 3,200 km of railroads, 32 hospitals, 145 health centers and 2 universities. The DRC will give concessions of at least some 8,000,000 metric tons of copper, 202,000 metric tons of cobalt and 372 metric tons of gold. Characteristics of the agreement are the fusion of all economic relations between the two countries in one single text, the guarantee of reimbursement of the costs incurred during the execution and the Chinese win-win policy, based on reciprocity but giving de facto a leader position to Chinese enterprises in the investment joint ventures.

China's investment policy is impacting on DRC. First of all, the 2007 agreement between China and RDC has a positive direct effect on the growth rates of the country, due to the high Chinese demand for raw commodities, molding the prices. Otherwise, some points of the agreement are however obscure, identifying some negative effects on DRC development. Overall, the Congolese employed by the Chinese firms will be payed less than other possible foreign enterprises, with scarce protection of work rights; there are no previsions about how maintain the infrastructures in the future; no taxes will be payed by China on mineral reserves such as copper and cobalt, cutting a considerable amount of public revenue.

Notes and references

* W. Jiang, Fuelling the Dragon: China's Rise and Its Energy and Resources Extraction in Africa, The China Quarterly, n. 199, 2009, pp. 585-609, published on-line by Cambridge University Press, 10 September 2009. For China-Africa relations, see China's great gambit, The South China Morning Post, 12 October 2006; The perils of China's Africa strategy: China and Africa II, International Herald Tribune, 2 November 2006; H. W. French, Commentary China and Africa, African Affairs, n. 422, 2007, pp. 127-132; H. G. Broadman, Chronology of China-Africa relations, China Report, n. 43, 2007, pp. 363-373; C. Alden, China in Africa, London, 2007; J. G. Frynas – M. Paulo, A new scramble for African oil? Historical, political and business perspectives, African Affairs, n. 423, 2007, pp. 229-251. See also P. N. Lyman, China's Rising Role in Africa, Council on Foreign Relations, 21 July 2005; E. Pan, China, Africa and Oil, Council on Foreign Relations, 26 January 2007; E. Down, The fact and fiction of Sino-African energy relations, China Security, n. 3, 2007, pp. 42-68; X. Yi-Chong, China and the United States in Africa: coming conflict or commercial coexistence?, Australian Journal of International Affairs, n. 1, 2008, pp. 16-37; W. Jiang, China's emerging strategic partnership in Africa, China Brief, n. 1, 2009

** H. W. French, Commentary China and Africa, African Affairs, n. 422, 2007, p. 128

*** W. Jiang, Fuelling the Dragon: China's Rise and Its Energy and Resources Extraction in Africa, The China Quarterly, n. 199, 2009, p. 590

**** L. R. Klein, New growth centers in this globalized economy, Journal of Policy Modeling, n. 4, 2004, p. 499

***** For a deep and complete analysis of the agreement and his effects on DRC see S. Marysse – S. Geenen, Win-win or unequal exchange? The case of the Sino-Congolese cooperation agreements, Journal of Modern African Studies, n. 47, 2009, pp. 371-396, published by Cambridge University Press, 2009. The Protocole d'accord entre la République Démocratique du Congo et le groupement des Enterprises Chinoises, September 2007, is available at:http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=.GRALACE &n=65909