China And Japan In Africa

Dohwa Jina Kim,

Correspondent (Africa)

 

Japan and China, two enormous Asian economies criticised each other on their motives for their aid to Africa. Japan suggested that China was bribing African leaders with ornate gifts, while China retorted that Japan was courting African support to secure a seat on the United National Security Council.

This debate was sparked when Japan’s controversial leader, Shinzo Abe, toured three nations in Africa, the first trip in eight years. He pledged more than 14 billion US dollars to Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Mozambique as aid.

Meanwhile, China has dubbed Africa the “golden ground” for investment, and pledged to double its aid to $20 billion dollars a year, with Chinese foreign ministers visiting African countries this month.

Abe admitted that it is lagging behind in investments in comparison to China, but retorted that unlike China, who provides “beautiful houses” in Africa, they aim to address the human capital of Africa.

China said they do not hold any hidden incentives, hinting at Japan’s attempts in winning enough votes to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Image Courtesy: © Simeon Scott, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license | Wikimedia Commons