US try to overtake China again in Africa - Howard French

Howard French

The United States are rethinking their Africa policies, and at the core of that process is the position China has gained at the fastest growing continent, writes journalist Howard French, author of China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa, in Foreign Policy.

Howard French:

There is one country that has not failed in its imagination about Africa in the last decade or so, and it happens to be the leading global competitor of the United States: China.". 

And it is China’s booming interests in Africa, and the appetite for African business that has been created in its wake in any number of other middle or rising powers — countries from Brazil and Turkey to Malaysia and Vietnam — that underscore the second major objection to the Smith appointment. 

Africa has 1.1 billion people today. By the middle of this century, it will almost certainly count over two billion. By the end of the century, Africa will astoundingly have between three and five billion people. The continent is presently urbanizing faster than any other part of the world. Its GDP is growing at least as fast as Asia’s – though few Americans have noticed. Its middle classes are already larger than India’s. Here, one finds irony in the way China has pursued an ideological competition with Washington in Africa, portraying itself as the non-judgmental foreign power that won’t get involved in other countries’ internal affairs, least of all questions of democracy. 

The United States has paid an enormous price to its credibility in Africa for its readiness to preach about democracy with states that are deemed relatively insignificant, while making little public fuss on the subject with long-favored authoritarians and deeply corrupt petro-states like Angola and Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile, it has utterly failed to understand Africa in terms of its immense upsides, as a place of tremendous opportunities. In economic matters, Washington has made little effort to compete with China and other outside powers in Africa — something that most Africans would greatly welcome and which would be beneficial to all.

More in Foreign Policy.

Howard French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

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Why Chinese keep moving to Africa - Howard French

+Howard French 

The Chinese restaurant owner in Nairobi with a ´No Africans´ policy raised many questions, got arrested and focused the attention on the between one and two million Chinese in Africa. Author Howard French of China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa explains in PRI some of their reasons.

PRI:

“These are people from all walks of life, but mostly people from working classes to the lower middle classes of China,” says Howard French, author of the book, “China’s Second Continent.” 

For the most part, French says these newcomers are, “people who have very little previous knowledge of, and certainly no previous experience of, Africa. And they come to Africa bringing a lot of … baggage of prejudice and stereotypes about the African continent.” Chinese people living and working in Africa have a whole range of attitudes about the people and place, French points out. But there is also a sense of entitlement among many Chinese business people who have come to Africa. 

“There’s a special irony here,” French says. China’s sense of its own history has placed great emphasis on the impact of Western imperialism on the Chinese motherland. It may be apocryphal, French says, but there is a well-known image from the era of high European colonial influence in China that began in the mid-19th century and lasted roughly a century. The image that has been played up in Chinese propaganda is that of a sign reading, ‘No Chinese or dogs allowed.’ 

“So, now you have the Chinese arriving in an African setting replicating to some extent the same sort of behavior, the same sort of attitudes,” French says. 

For many Chinese business people, French says the allure of Africa is still strong. “There’s a whole lore in China, where Africa has attained this image of this El Dorado: a place [that] with very little experience and little capital, you can start up your own companies, you can attain land, you can engage very profitably in trade, you can strike it rich quickly.”

More in PRI.

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Wang Jianlin´s poor IPO spoiled his no.1 position - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Until last week both Jack Ma of Alibaba and Wang Jianlin were in the race to become the richest man in China in 2014. A poor IPO in Hong Kong spoiled his chances, explains China Rich List founder Rupert Hoogewerf, in the China Daily. But it is not the end of the game.

The China Daily:

Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, which compiles the widely followed Chinese rich list, predicted this month that Wanda's share price would have to rise by at least 30 percent for Wang to overtake Ma as China's richest. 

In comparison, Ma's Alibaba soared by 38 percent on its New York Stock Exchange debut. Stock analysts and wealth watchers say Wanda Commercial's cool reception on its Hong Kong debut has reduced the value of Wang's stake in the company by about $300 million. This is about 1.2 percent of Wang's estimated personal net worth of $24.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index. 

But Wang is still ahead of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, ensuring that the top three places on the list of Asia's wealthiest are all Chinese. 

On the list, Wang ranks third after Hong Kong property tycoon Li Ka-shing, who has $29.4 billion, and Ma with $29.1 billion. 

Analysts said a setback on the first day of trading isn't uncommon for IPO stocks. "An IPO does not end in one day. The closing price of Wanda Commercial was in line with market expectations,"Hoogewerf said. 

"Unlike the information technology industry, the real estate sector has been slowing down. But the downturn will provide great opportunities for well-financed real estate developers to expand," Hoogewerf added. 

The Wanda Commercial IPO has helped Wang to fulfill one of his dreams, Hoogewerf said. "To top the rich list is not what Wang wanted; rather, he wanted the largest IPO." Hoogewerf said more Chinese companies have been tapping overseas capital markets for funding this year. 

"We have seen more action on the international front than in the previous 15 years added together," he said.

More in the China Daily.

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The Haphazard Empire - Howard French

+Howard French 

Author and journalist Howard French discusses his book China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa, at the Sinica Podcast with Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn. He explains why the original title The Haphazard Empire, covers his book better: the unplanned migration of over a million of Chinese to Africa.

You can hear the full podcast here.

Howard French and Kaiser Kuo are both speakers at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need one of them at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you interested in more experts on China´s outbound investments? Do check our latest list here.
 

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´China´s Second Continent´@ Economist Best Books 2014 - Howard French

+Howard French 

After the New York Times, also the Economist has selected Howard French´ book China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa for it Best Books of 2014.

Howard French is currently associate professor the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and former foreign correspondent for the New York Times at in Africa, Japan, China.

Howard French is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you interested in more experts on China´s outbound investments? Do check out our latest list.

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´China´s Second Continent´in New York Times Notable books - Howard French

Howard French

The bestseller by former New York Times correspondent Howard French, China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa , has been picked by the New York Times section of "Notable books of 2014".

The book gives a compelling account of the inroads Chinese have made into Africa, and how they are profoundly changing the continent.

More in the New York Times.

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Why China is not competing with the west for Africa - Howard French

+Howard French 

China and the West are heavily competing about access to Africa, if we may believe many media reports. But that is a gross simplifications of what is really going on, says author Howard French, China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africain the Mail&Guardian.

The Mail&Guardian:

The widely covered United States-Africa Leaders Summit earlier this month led to talk of the US awakening to the “threat” of China’s advance into Africa, and how Washington will have to play catch-up, with the $33-billion headline investment figure announced by President Barack Obama being compared with the figures linked to Beijing in recent years.

This perception is a “gross oversimplification”, says Howard French, the author of China’s Second Continent, an eye-opening book that details how a million Chinese migrants are building a new empire in Africa.

The idea that China’s big recent successes – which have led to the “Look East” policy that is a favourite of African leaders – have come at the expense of the West are largely untrue, French says in an interview with Chinaherald.net, citing the way in which the global economy is segmented and increasingly specialised.

“The goods that China is selling are generally not mainstays of Western commerce any more,” says French.

“I would also say that China has large, inherent competitive advantages in infrastructure and public works, because of the scale of infrastructure building in China, and because of the low cost of capital there, and that much of the business it is winning in Africa in this sector isn’t so much being taken away from anyone as it is being allocated rationally.”

More in the Mail&Guardian.

Howard French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

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China as an imperial force in Africa? - Howard French

Howard French

Has China become an imperial force in Africa? Author Howard French of China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa discusses the question how China jumped into a power vacuum in Africa and took the opportunities left by others. The use of the word "empire" has triggered off a debate, and French explains at ChinaFile how he sees Sino-African relations.

Howard French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more expert speakers on China´s outbound investments? Do check out this recent list.


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