Leveraging the Dragon Toward an Africa That Can Say No

The paper examines the rapid growth of China-Africa relations, noting that while Chinese investment and debt forgiveness are welcomed, the relationship is often asymmetrical. It suggests that African leaders should adopt a pragmatic approach—inspired by Deng Xiaoping's reforms—to negotiate better terms, including technology transfer, local labour requirements, and preferential trade agreements. The author advocates for using the China-Africa Co-operation Forum to establish a formal code of conduct and a civil society forum to hold Beijing accountable for its commitments regarding human rights, arms trafficking, and fair trade.

• Trade between China and Africa grew significantly in the early 2000s, increasing from $10 billion in 2000 to $18 billion in 2003.
• China's engagement with Africa is primarily driven by a need to secure energy resources, though it has also provided foreign assistance, debt forgiveness, and peacekeeping in Liberia.
• African nations face a significant trade imbalance with China due to the commodity-based nature of exchange and Chinese industrial overcapacity, exemplified by South Africa's trade deficit which rose from $24 million in 1992 to $400 million in 2001.
• The document highlights a contradiction between China's commitment to stop the illegal trafficking of small arms in Africa, as stated in the 2000 Beijing Declaration, and the actual appearance of Chinese light arms in the Congo and support for Burundian factions.
• African states are encouraged to demand 'tie-in' projects, such as training programmes and technology transfer, as a condition for investment, similar to how China previously required joint ventures for foreign direct investment.
• The author suggests that African leaders should utilize the China-Africa Co-operation Forum to implement a code of conduct based on African Union and Nepad principles, supported by an annual review process similar to the African Peer Review Mechanism.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). Leveraging the Dragon Toward an Africa That Can Say No. https://saiia.org.za/research/special-feature-leveraging-the-dragon-toward-an-africa-that-can-say-no/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Leveraging the Dragon Toward an Africa That Can Say No. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/special-feature-leveraging-the-dragon-toward-an-africa-that-can-say-no/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Leveraging the Dragon Toward an Africa That Can Say No |date=25 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/special-feature-leveraging-the-dragon-toward-an-africa-that-can-say-no/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008leveraging, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Leveraging the Dragon Toward an Africa That Can Say No}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/special-feature-leveraging-the-dragon-toward-an-africa-that-can-say-no/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }