Fond friends or hungry dragon? China’s increased higher education collaboration with Africa

The partnership is one of many collaborations set up following the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000 and the formulation of the Chinese government’s “Africa Policy”. This policy was initiated in 2006 to promote student and faculty exchanges, training in African and Chinese languages and research cooperation in fields of mutual interest (such as bio-agriculture, mining and medicine). In the past four years, several countries, including Egypt, Nigeria and Tunisia, have already concluded agreements with China in the area of science and technology transfer. For details on a current partnership programme between the two regions, please refer to an interesting article published by University World News. 

Suitable partners?

China’s interest in collaboration can be valuable for Africa in several ways, given the higher education and brain drain challenges faced by the continent. The sheer size of the Chinese market, coupled with projections for continued economic growth, can also offer good trading opportunities for Africa. In addition, African partners are hoping to learn from China’s rapid economic development over the past decade.

The two regions are good partners in the sense that they have no shared history of conflict and are collaborating on the principle of ”non-interference” in each other’s politics. Analysts have argued that China’s emphasis on national sovereignty is attractive to those African states that in the past have been reluctant to implement reforms imposed by Western donor institutions and countries.

Criticisms

Critics, however, argue that China’s motives for Africa collaboration are more profit-oriented than its philanthropic rhetoric would suggest. Since the launch of the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation in 2000, China-Africa trade has grown at an annual average rate of 33.5%, from US$ 10 billion in 2000 to US$ 107 billion in 2008. It has been claimed that China is looking to secure a share of Africa’s natural resources (especially oil, iron and copper) to benefit its growing population and booming economy. Collaboration in areas such as higher education, engineering and health could create the networks necessary to promote this goal. For further analyses, see a good article published on the East Asia Forum and discussions posted on the World Bank blog.

Competition for African cooperation

Interestingly, the Chinese are facing competition from India in established African partnerships. The governments of India and South Africa, for instance, have just agreed on a new joint research programme in the field of science and technology. This increased competition may give Africa greater leverage to determine the nature and the extent of foreign higher education involvement and to set specific terms for funding and aid. In this respect, it is good to see that the African Union has taken a more active role in developing strategic foreign partnerships in the higher education field in recent years.

Meeting Africa’s development needs?

It remains to be seen whether the China-Africa partnership will address the core higher education challenges faced by the continent, and to what extent specific developmental needs will be addressed, particularly in the long run. There may be potential benefits for both sides but, ultimately, it will be left to all partners involved to ensure that they get a fair deal.