The Asian Gold Rush: a Critique of the Win-Win Chinese Strategy Towards Africa

Abstract: Africa has observed an impressively growing Chinese presence in the last 20 years. Signals of this can be identified in the strong investments the Asian country has carried out on the continent, always depicting such attitude as a business partnership, where the former exploits African raw materials and favours the economic and social development of the latter in return. Indeed, China supports its interest in the African continent on the ground of the win-win strategy, as this partnership would bring advantages to both parties. However, several voices have raised on the international scene, denouncing a Chinese predatory attitude and a form of exploitation, which can be compared to the Western Colonialism. Even if it can be stated that the current situation is not comparable to colonialism in Western conception, it is also undeniable that Africa is being shaped by the Chinese following the model of their own economic, financial and social system. So stated, it is clear that the win-win strategy does no longer suit to such scenery. For this reason, it should be renamed as a win-through strategy, to describe how China is making this partnership successful by turning Africa into a big reproduction of its own system.