Sino-African partnership must come to a new balance based on more sustainable mutual growth
José Filomeno dos Santos says new opportunities will build on, and reshape, Sino-African trade relations
Concurrently, resource-led economies in Africa are in distress due to the decline of commodity prices, a stronger US currency and domestic fiscal imbalances. Some analysts suggest this is the ultimate time of reckoning for overheated emerging economies. But, most likely, we are merely crossing turbulent waters to begin a new chapter of more sustainable growth in China and Africa.
In 2009, China overtook the US as Africa's largest single trading partner. Nevertheless, the trade profile between China and individual African nations varies. Regional analysts estimate China imported over half of the exports of Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mauritania and the Republic of the Congo, and at least nine African nations sourced more than a fifth of their inward trade from China.
Meanwhile, the largest African economies have been gathering impetus as a result of the growing commodity demand in China. South Africa gained momentum due to the China-led surge in gold, copper and platinum prices, whereas Nigeria and Angola have both experienced record growth rates, derived primarily from higher crude oil prices.
In the case of my homeland, Angola, the trade partnership with China enabled a positive foundation for social harmony. Before entering a partnership with Chinese state banks in 2004, Angola was a war-torn nation keen to recover from a 27-year civil conflict that had displaced millions and eroded its infrastructure.
By 2020 the number of households with discretionary income is expected to rise by 50 per cent ... this provides the sizeable market required to nurture China's growth
Since then, Angola has recovered ports, airports, hundreds of kilometres of roads and railways, and expanded its education and health network. In exchange, it became the largest supplier of crude oil to China. The capital stock derived from our trade with China will not vanish at the downturn of a global business cycle, unlike the billions of dollars eviscerated overnight from the international stock markets in recent months.
