China's cooperation and investment in Africa can not be labeled
as "neo-colonialism" because, unlike what European colonists did
before, China-Africa cooperation has brought real benefit to
African people, said a Cameroonian scholar on Tuesday.
Pierre Essama Essomba, president of Media Council of Cameroon,
said in the past three decades, China has helped Cameroon build
conference halls, schools, hospitals and highways, and most
recently, rapid growth of bilateral trade has brought affordable
commodities to people in Cameroon.
"If you compare this with what German, British and French
colonists did in Cameroon before, you will find those colonists had
left nothing good in our country," Essomba said in an interview
with Xinhua.
On the contrary, China's aids and investment in Cameroon are
tangible and beneficial to ordinary people.
"China sends doctors to work in Cameroonian hospitals.
Cameroonian people appreciate it very much," Essomba said.
"Labeling China as a 'new colonist' in Africa is not fair. It is
merely bias in some Western media," he said.
Essomba made the remarks in response to a view among some
critics who accuse China of "colonizing Africa" as it exports cheap
manufactured products to African market while taking away the
continent's natural resources.
He said it is true that more and more Chinese business people
come to Cameroon and other African countries, bringing large amount
of goods to local markets.
"But in general we African people welcome Chinese goods because
they are both affordable and reliable," he said.
"We hope more small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises come to
invest in Cameroon so that more people can be benefited," he
said.
"We hope such cooperation will not only bring the investment,
but also technical expertise so that African people can learn to
rely on themselves eventually," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2006)
