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interests, are noticeable on the African continent today and are in various ways impacting African economies. Much of their activity is in the area of mineral resource extraction and infrastructure construction. In one country after another, Chinese handiwork has become noticeable, eliciting both positive and negative reactions from the populace.
The Chinese have built a reputation for hard work and rapid and timely infrastructure construction. In the 1970s, they constructed the Tazara Railway from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia, financed by the Chinese government and constructed by thousands of Chinese and African workers. The project cost a total of approximately US$500 million and was completed ahead of schedule in 1975, taking only 5 years to build. It was, in its time, the largest foreign-aid project ever undertaken by China. This piece of work continues to draw accolades.
In all parts of the African continent today, Chinese enterprises are working to extract minerals, including petroleum, gold, diamonds, cobalt, manganese, iron ore, titanium, bauxite, copper, tin, zinc, and other rare minerals. In addition, the Chinese are undertaking more limited agricultural ventures. These activities have drawn a lot of reaction from the West as Chinese competition elbows Western enterprises out of the field. There is often restiveness among Africans regarding the labor conditions in Chinese enterprises operating on the continent. The Chinese are accused of cutting corners and of not paying enough. Chinese initiatives in small-scale retail trade are often resented because they are in competition with local lower-level traders. But, however the current Chinese presence in Africa is considered, it is undeniable that the Chinese are making an important difference to African economies.
Some time ago (February 22, 2010), in correspondence I had with Adams Bodomo in reaction to the views he had expressed to a Western correspondent who was overly critical of the Chinese presence in Africa, I wrote,