China Acknowledges Downside in Africa

Chinese president, Hu Jintao, inspects a guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007. Hu is on a state visit to South Africa as part of his African tour. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell) (Denis Farrell - AP)

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Africa bearing the usual gifts of money for soccer stadiums and interest-free loans. But he also has brought a new recognition of the downside of China's aggressive quest for the continent's resources.

These include tensions over mounting trade imbalances, the practices of some Chinese investors and the risks of doing business with rogue states.

Unmentioned, as Beijing adds luster to Africa's renewed status as a strategic ally, is the possibility of a dispute with the United States as the two vie for resources and influence on the continent. Another source of possible conflict is China's arms sales to countries accused of human rights violations.

Hu's eight-nation, 12-day tour has taken him to Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa. On Thursday, he arrived in Mozambique and wraps up his tour Friday and Saturday in the Seychelles.

Hu was met by flag-waving crowds and standing ovations. But he also had to deal with pressure to influence Sudan's government about the bloody conflict in Darfur. And in Liberia, there were rumors that a legislator received a handout from Taiwan, China's rival.

Clothing manufacturers in Zambia complained cheap Chinese goods are destroying their business. South Africa's textile union says some 100,000 jobs have been lost as synthetic fabrics replace cotton prints in street markets across the continent, and last year threatened to boycott anyone selling Chinese products.

Fearing protests, Hu's delegation canceled a visit to Zambia's Copperbelt, where Beijing is setting up an economic cooperation zone expected to draw $800 million in mining investments.

While many Zambians welcome the Chinese presence, there has been a backlash fueled by workplace accidents, poor working conditions and low pay at Chinese-run copper mines. Fifty-one Zambian workers died in a 2005 mine explosion and dozens of protesters were fired on by Chinese security guards last year.

"They are not here to develop Zambia, they're here to develop China," said Zambian legislator Guy Scott.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has warned against allowing Chinese forays into Africa to become a neocolonialist adventure, with African raw materials exchanged for shoddy manufactured imports and little attention to developing an impoverished continent.

Hu was at pains to change that perception.

In a speech to South African university students, he emphasized "economic win-win cooperation." In Namibia, he counseled managers of Chinese companies on bearing social responsibility and promoting harmony with residents, China's state television reported. It appeared to be the first time Hu has addressed issues facing Chinese companies operating in Africa.