{"id":3121,"date":"2013-08-07T12:47:21","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T12:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?p=3121"},"modified":"2013-08-14T15:46:32","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T15:46:32","slug":"africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-3109\" alt=\"ZhongJianhua On Aid Trade and Jobs\" src=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0-211x300.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"350\" \/><\/a>Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ambassador Zhong is the most senior Chinese government official to have responded to the accusation from Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, that trade relations with China are a \u201csignificant contributor to Africa\u2019s deindustrialisation and underdevelopment\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfrica is strong enough to fight economically\u2026but this is the first time we are hearing that it is willing to do so. I welcome this kind of attitude\u201d, notes Zhong in the first edition of <a href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/publications\/ambassador-zhong-jianhua-on-trade-aid-and-jobs\/\">Africa Research Institute\u2019s <em>Conversations<\/em> series<\/a>, launched today.<\/p>\n<p>While Africa is \u201con the point of take-off\u201d, its leaders must realise that \u201cnobody will provide lunch for free \u2013 it must be earned\u201d, asserts China\u2019s top diplomat in Africa. Sustainable development requires proper management and investment of revenues earned from the continent\u2019s abundant natural resources. For Zhong, \u201cno country can industrialise simply by selling raw materials\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>While criticisms of Chinese businesses operating in Africa are often well founded, these enterprises seldom act any differently at home. Nevertheless, trade relations show no sign of letting up. In fact, Zhong argues, more attention is needed: \u201cThe business community in China has not yet understood that Africa is the next growth area\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Productive and profitable agriculture \u2013 small and large scale \u2013 is an absolute prerequisite for development, but Zhong questions conventional approaches to addressing food insecurity on the continent. \u201cSelf-sufficiency in food production is a model of the past for farmers. In modern agriculture, farmers must respond to what the market demands. This is a big challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Zhong reacts with bemusement to the perception that the Chinese government is hoarding archives of data on foreign aid and investment. \u201cAs a senior government official, I can tell you that it [data] is not as precise as we would like it to be\u2026if you want data, you must be prepared\u00a0for a fight\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Questions that cast China in binary terms \u2013 as friend or foe \u2013 produce answers that are of little value. \u201cChina is not bad, China is not good. China is a combination of these things\u201d, says Zhong. This should be the starting point for conversation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Africa Research Institute is an independent, non-partisan think-tank based in London. Our mission is to draw attention to ideas and initiatives that have worked in Africa, and identify new ideas where needed.<\/p>\n<p><i><a href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/publications\/ambassador-zhong-jianhua-on-trade-aid-and-jobs\/\">Zhong Jianhua on Aid, Trade and Jobs\u00a0<\/a><\/i>can be downloaded from the Africa Research Institute website: <a href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/publications\/ambassador-zhong-jianhua-on-trade-aid-and-jobs\/\">https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/publications\/ambassador-zhong-jianhua-on-trade-aid-and-jobs\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d. Ambassador Zhong is the most senior Chinese government official to have responded to the accusation from Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, that trade relations with China are a \u201csignificant contributor to Africa\u2019s deindustrialisation and underdevelopment\u201d. \u201cAfrica is strong enough to fight economically\u2026but this is the first time we are hearing that it is willing to do so. I welcome this kind of attitude\u201d, notes Zhong in the first edition of Africa Research Institute\u2019s Conversations series, launched today. While Africa is \u201con the point of take-off\u201d, its leaders must realise that \u201cnobody will provide lunch for free \u2013 it must be earned\u201d, asserts China\u2019s top diplomat in Africa. Sustainable development requires proper management and investment of revenues earned from the continent\u2019s abundant natural resources. For Zhong, \u201cno country can industrialise simply by selling raw materials\u201d. While criticisms of Chinese businesses operating in Africa are often well founded, these enterprises seldom act any differently at home. Nevertheless, trade relations show no sign of letting up. In fact, Zhong argues, more attention is needed: \u201cThe business community in China has not yet understood that Africa is the next growth area\u201d. Productive and profitable agriculture \u2013 small and large scale \u2013 is an absolute prerequisite for development, but Zhong questions conventional approaches to addressing food insecurity on the continent. \u201cSelf-sufficiency in food production is a model of the past for farmers. In modern agriculture, farmers must respond to what the market demands. This is a big challenge\u201d. Zhong reacts with bemusement to the perception that the Chinese government is hoarding archives of data on foreign aid and investment. \u201cAs a senior government official, I can tell you that it [data] is not as precise as we would like it to be\u2026if you want data, you must be prepared\u00a0for a fight\u201d. Questions that cast China in binary terms \u2013 as friend or foe \u2013 produce answers that are of little value. \u201cChina is not bad, China is not good. China is a combination of these things\u201d, says Zhong. This should be the starting point for conversation. Notes to editors: Africa Research Institute is an independent, non-partisan think-tank based in London. Our mission is to draw attention to ideas and initiatives that have worked in Africa, and identify new ideas where needed. Zhong Jianhua on Aid, Trade and Jobs\u00a0can be downloaded from the Africa Research Institute website: https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/publications\/ambassador-zhong-jianhua-on-trade-aid-and-jobs\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[270,323,322],"class_list":["post-3121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-china-africa","tag-lamido-sanusi","tag-zhong-jianhua"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua  - Africa Research Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua  - Africa Research Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AfricaResearch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AfricaResearch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yovanka ARI\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/\",\"name\":\"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua - Africa Research Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-07T12:47:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-08-14T15:46:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2\"},\"description\":\"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg\",\"width\":1748,\"height\":2480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Research Institute\",\"description\":\"Building on the Dynamism in Africa Today\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2\",\"name\":\"Yovanka ARI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/author\/y-ariyigasdhb76r\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua  - Africa Research Institute","description":"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua  - Africa Research Institute","twitter_description":"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg","twitter_creator":"@AfricaResearch","twitter_site":"@AfricaResearch","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Yovanka ARI","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/","name":"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua - Africa Research Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg","datePublished":"2013-08-07T12:47:21+00:00","dateModified":"2013-08-14T15:46:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2"},"description":"Zhong Jianhua, China\u2019s Special Representative on African Affairs, claims that it is the responsibility of his government to \u201ctry and help Africa compete with us\u201d.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ZhongJianhuaOnAidTradeAndJobs-page-0.jpg","width":1748,"height":2480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/africa-will-be-chinas-next-economic-competitor-says-beijings-top-diplomat-zhong-jianhua\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Africa will be China\u2019s next economic competitor says Beijing\u2019s top diplomat Zhong Jianhua"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/","name":"Africa Research Institute","description":"Building on the Dynamism in Africa Today","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/03660fee7530e23ea5b5e53fe67eedf2","name":"Yovanka ARI","url":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/author\/y-ariyigasdhb76r\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africaresearchinstitute.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}