China Engagement Rhetorical Analysis

China’s engagement in Africa has attracted much attention in academic, policy and media circles. Of particular significance is the implication of China’s non-interference and no-strings-attached policies in Africa. Indeed, while China has been operating in Africa since the early 1960s – by supporting Africa’s struggle for independence - it is only in the 2000s that its engagement began to resurface, as exemplified by its heavy investment in various infrastructures projects in several African countries (Brautigam 2009, p. 3). However, what is particularly striking with China’s engagement with Africa is its stark contrast to that of Africa’s traditional partners, namely European countries and the United States. Unlike, Western countries, whose …show more content…
Furthermore, in order to fend off criticisms of neo-colonialism, Chinese leaders often point to “historical mutuality” around shared experiences of colonialism and imperialism (Power and Mohan 2010). Based on this rhetoric, China legitimizes its distinctive approach to Africa on the ground that as the world’s largest developing country itself, it understands Africa’s underdevelopment and poverty dilemma (Chinese President Xi JingPing Forum on China and Africa Cooperation Speech, 2012). However, many critics of the Sino-Africa relations contend that China is a “neo-colonialist” and “neo-imperialist”, and argue that this relation is reminiscent of Africa’s colonial relations with the West (Manji and Marks 2007, p. 5; Power and Mohan 2010, p. 12).