Xi Jinping's "Big Dump of Cash” on Africa

China taking up the Yellow Man's Burden

Xi just committed another $50 billion investment to Africa, at the 9th Forum on China–Africa Cooperation. Continuing the billions of investments that China has made there as well as elsewhere in Global South.

For this he has many domestic detractors. His nickname is 大撒币 "Big Dump of Cash” which is homophone for 大傻逼 "Big F—king Idiot".

In this satirical cartoon, Xi is depicted as pandering to Kenya 肯亚, Djibouti 吉布提, Pakistan etc., while the average Chinese people are left out and exposed to a weak economy and labor market.

But the long term strategy for this is difficult to argue against. China is the factory of the world and wants the continent with fastest population growth to become a more prosperous market for its products.

The precedents are numerous. European colonization opened up markets, at the same time that Industrial Revolution was taking place. The largest company in the world, at the time was formed to administer free-trade policy, i.e. open markets and no tariffs. British investment in infrastructure of the Raj later paid off, in it contributing to half of the Empire’s GDP.

Imperial Japan’s investment in Manchukuo, leading to its emergence as the third-largest industrial area in East Asia after Japan-proper and USSR. American investment in Europe and Japan post-WWII. Japanese and American investments in China in the Deng era. Each followed the same principles.

At the same time China is exposed the similar negative externalities of European colonization of Africa. Including Chinese expats being physically attacked in Africa, 1, 2, 3.

As of 2020, there are estimated 1,500,000+ Africans living in China, and increasing. I will leave the reader to infer the attendant social impacts.