China an African Friend Enemy in Production

Any fake product is now nicknamed “mchina”. It is very famous term in our country Tanzania.

The Chinese investments in Africa based on minerals, construction and trading in most cases, it has been noted. She has also invested in energy security in order to support its long term growth. As oil is a major import for China, it has been investing in refinery projects across the African continent. “Algeria, Sudan, Chad, Niger and Nigeria all have oil refinery projects funded by Chinese firms, with the Nigerian project worth $23bn alone” said Tarling-Hunter.

In the other direction, China's growing thirst for raw materials lead African state-owned enterprises to the country them natural resources, such wood and minerals (like those from the Gabonese forests). By the end of the 1990s, China had become interested in African oil, too.

Over time, African laws adapted to China's demand, laws intended to force the local transformation of raw materials for export. This led to a new kind of manufacturing in Africa, managed by the Chinese, with African workers producing exports for Chinese.

In trading China export read made goods of very low quality in Africa. In most cases she export to Africa products such cups, forks, cellular phone, radio, television sets and umbrellas to Africa Indeed, African society has a screaming need for cheap goods in large quantities. China's manufacturing industry is truly complementary to African markets, often producing more cheaply than most African manufacturers can, and with better quality. Cheap Chinese clothes and cheap Chinese cars at half the price of western ones allow African customers to suddenly rise up the purchasing power.

In the other direction, China's growing thirst for raw materials lead African state-owned enterprises to the country them natural resources, such wood and minerals (like those from the Gabonese forests). By the end of the 1990s, China had become interested in African oil, too.

The business between China and Africa is doing better, during the year 2011; the trade increased a staggering 33% from the previous year to US $166 billion. This included Chinese imports from Africa equaling US $93 billion, consisting largely of mineral ores, petroleum, and agricultural products and Chinese exports to Africa totaling $93 billion, consisting largely of manufactured goods.

Outlining the rapidly expanding trade between the African continent and China, trade between these two areas of the world increased further by over 22% year-over-year to US $80.5 billion during the first five months of the year 2012. Imports from Africa were up 25.5% to $49.6 billion during these first five months of 2012 and exports of Chinese-made products, such as machinery, electrical and consumer goods and clothing/footwear increased 17.5% to reach $30.9 billion. China remained Africa's largest trading partner during 2011 for the fourth consecutive year (starting in 2008). To put the entire trade between China and Africa into perspective, during the early 1960s trade between these two large parts of the world were in the mere hundreds of millions of dollars back then. These data are according to wikipedia.

Chinese also invested more construction companies in Africa. They are good tender winners in most of African big constructions such as roads, bridges and buildings and many others. In Nigeria they constructed a railway line from Lagos to Kano, which cost US$ 8.3b, 11,000. In Angola and Zambia they constructed Benguela railway line built with the British and linking Zambia and RDC's copper mines to Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito, was to be rebuilt by the Chinese company CIF (the project was canceled after US$3b disappeared). China is the world largest consumer of copper; In Guinea 2006, a free of charge industrial 'packtage' including: one mine, one dam, one hydroelectric central, one railway, and one refinery was proposed to the Guinea bauxite/aluminum industry by China, funded by the EximBank, which will get repaid by purchasing alumina at apreferential price. In Algeria they constructed a 1,000 km freeway. Tanzania and Zambia decades ago, the 1860 km Tazara railway is completed in 1976, with 47 bridges and 18 tunnel made by 50,000 Chinese workers. In Sudan, Chinese constructed a pipeline and oilfields; Port Sudan completed within 2 years. And in Congo they constructed barrage d'Imboulou. Information is for the assistance of Wikipedia.

The opportunities to Africans

China's oil purchases have raised oil prices, boosting the government revenues of oil exporters like Angola, Gabon and Nigeria, while hurting the other oil-importing African countries. At the same time, China's raw materials purchases have increased prices for copper, timber, and nickel, which benefit many African countries as well.

The challenges to Africans following China-Africa relations are on the fake products. The products do not stay long, and in most cases they have inside effects to the users.

Challenges

Many Africans do not afford to buy highly quality products from Europe and America despite the fact that they are quite sure the products are bests. These are the great challenge because they need product while they don’t have enough money to buy the standard ones as the result they rush for Chinese ones.