China showed up at Africa’s critical point of need – Expert

According to the Executive Director of the Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory, Mr. Paul Frimpong, China’s history with Africa has shown a track record of true friendship, and this has contributed to the continuous rise in Africa-China engagements.

He made these revelations during the one-day training on Africa/Ghana-China relations hosted by his outfit in Accra for select media professionals.

The Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory is a Sino-African research and policy think tank and advisory firm headquartered in Accra, Ghana.

The training forms part of a series of Africa-China Media Capacity-Building Program of the ACCPA. This training featured over 40 select journalists in Ghana (from TV, radio, newspapers, online blogs, etc.).

Mr. Frimpong’s presentation focused on Why China is now Africa’s perfect partner and, if so, challenged participants to inquire if indeed, China is the right partner for Ghana.

According to him, “The significance of when China showed up in Africa to provide the needed support has often been overlooked. More often than not, it’s lost completely in the Africa-China debate, and that is very intriguing.”

“Dating back to the 1990s through the early 2000s, the African continent experienced a plethora of crises that crippled the continent’s potential for growth and left millions in abject poverty.”

“In May 2000, the entire continent of Africa was labeled “the hopeless continent” by the Economist magazine. This, in many ways, was the broader sentiment shared by Europe and the West, led by the US.”

“Africa was seen as nothing less than a death zone and certainly not a place to do business or invest. The continent was used as a do-good-aid dumping ground.”

“What is significant is that it was at this point that the continent needed tangible investment and needed partners ready to help rebuild these economies.”

“This is when China showed up, stepped up, and provided a platform for engagement with Africa that has yielded tangible infrastructure developments across the continent, including Ghana.”

This is a classic case of a ‘friend in need is a friend indeed’.