Some
estimates in Chinese media put the number of Chinese working in Africa at over
750,000. Many of them are entrepreneurs and their ventures range from ice-cream
factories in Malawi to massage parlours in Ethiopia and pharmacies in Chad to
restaurants in Uganda. "At first the Chinese were welcomed but, slowly, they
have become resented; from Namibia in the south to Tanzania in the east and
Nigeria in the west, the same complaints are heard, of poor wages, bad working
conditions, shoddy products and low quality workmanship", says a blogger on
factsanddetails.com/china/
In
recent years, Chinese workers have been kidnaped and killed in Sudan, Ethiopia
and Nigeria. The security related concerns do not appear to deter the Chinese
who are in Africa for the long haul. In the short to near term itself, African
nations have reasons to worry with the flood of Chinese imports; these will
undermine local manufacturing base. "China is not in Africa for altruistic
reasons. China is in Africa primarily for China", an American diplomat is
quoted as summing up the situation.
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