A defense of China's policies.
ursday, February 8, 2007; A14
JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 7 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday sought to reassure Africans that his country's aggressive investments in oil, copper and other natural resources do not amount to a new wave of colonialism, saying China would "not do anything harmful to the interests of Africa and its people."
Hu's comments, made in Pretoria on the sixth stop of an eight-country tour of the continent, came amid rising anxiety that China's economic power is strangling African manufacturing while locking up vital resources for years. Although China has made massive purchases of oil from Angola, Sudan and Nigeria, the flood of finished goods to Africa has created a large trade imbalance.
Commentators increasingly compare the relationship to that of European countries and their African colonies, in which the ruling powers extracted natural resources at marginal cost and forced the colonies to import costly manufactured goods. But Hu sought to distinguish China by invoking his country's experience with colonialism.
Hu Defends China's Role in Africa - washingtonpost.com