What is the Sub-Saharan African perspective of China in Africa
as shown in state media?
By Llewellyn Little
University of Amsterdam
Thesis Supervisor: Dr Julia Bader
Second Reader: Dr Julian Gruin
Completed in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an MSc in
International Relations
Specialisation: Power transition of the 21
stcentury, the rise of China in
International Relations
Table of Contents:
Abbreviations iv
Introduction 1
History of China in Africa 3
History of China in Namibia 4
History of China in Zimbabwe 5
Literature Review 7
Theoretical Framework: Social Constructivism 13
Analytical framework: Entman’s Framing Approach 17
Methodology & Data 24
Empirical Analysis 28
The New Era 29
The Namibian 37 The Herald 44 Discussion of Results 53 Recommendations 56 Concluding Remarks 57 Bibliography 60 Newspaper References 62
Abstract
Western media often shine a negative light on Chinese activities in Africa, often calling them neo-colonist and imperialists, whilst hyping negative actions of Chinese companies and pushing the perceptions that Africans do not like the Chinese on their continent. Existing scholarly research knows this to be an exaggeration and arguably, a farce. There is a myriad of perceptions across the continent. Through an extensive media analysis this explorative thesis attempts to explore what is the Sub-Saharan African perspective of China in Africa as shown through state media since 2010. The thesis will draw upon the existing literature as well as focusing on three case studies from Namibia and Zimbabwe. Namibia is one of the most democratic and free countries in Africa whilst, Zimbabwe is one of the least democratic countries in Africa with one of the least free press. Articles of analysis have been drawn from the Namibian state-owned newspaper the New Era and from the Zimbabwean state-owned Herald. The state owned articles are counterbalanced and compared against a privately owned African, opposition backed paper, The Namibian. The articles were analysed through a social constructivist lens with the use of the ‘Entman’ framing approach. Ultimately, this article will show that the African perception through state media is an overwhelmingly positive one, seeing China as a friend and investment partner.
Abbreviations FOCAC: Forum of China-African Cooperation
US: United States
UN: United Nations
MCA: Millennium Challenge Account
SWAPO: South West African Peoples Organisation
ZANU-PF: Zimbabwean African Union-Patriotic Front
In this contemporary world, reading about Chinese activities in Africa through Western news outlets, you would be fooled into thinking that this is a relatively new, and morally questionable activity. However, China’s presence in Africa is not new, nor is it unique, because Western powers have been involved on the continent for centuries. China has been ‘in Africa’, in the modern sense, since 1949, following the end of the Chinese Civil War (Cheru & Obi, 2011, pg. 73). Over the past sixty years, Chinese and African relations have gone from strength to strength, particularly since 2006.
Since the Chinese-African Cooperation summit, in 2006, there has been a significant change in relationships between China and the African continent. This summit carried with it a strong symbolism as 2006 was the year of the 50th anniversary of China and Africa’s first ever diplomatic ties. In June, the then Premier and president of China, Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao, visited ten African Countries to promote these Sino-African relations. By November, the time of the FOCAC summit, leaders of African countries met in Beijing to learn of China’s new role on the continent. China would provide aid packages, assistance, debt cancellation and so forth in order to help develop the economies of the African Nations.
In a space of a decade (2000-2010), trade between Africa and China has risen from US$ 10 billion to $126.9 billion (Hanush 2012, pg. 492). On top of this, there has been an increase from $1 billion to US$ 10 billion investments in infrastructure from China (Hanush pg. 493). Although this investment is arguably a drop in the ocean compared to the combined amount of other world powers, China’s exponential increase is noteworthy. This rise is often treated with suspicion and accusations by Western powers and media alike. This is due to the perception of China’s willingness to cooperate with less than democratic regimes (Brown & Siriam, 2009), as well as due to reported poor working standards and the flooding of Africa with cheap Chinese goods (Lee, 2009). It must be noted, however, that appears to be a Western perspective, with little analysis having been completed on the African perspective of China in Africa (Hanush, 2012, pg. 493). This leads us to the main research question of this thesis: what is the sub-Saharan African perspective of China in Africa as shown in the African media over the past decade?
This thesis will attempt to answer this by examining how sub-Saharan African state-owned media portray China in Africa as well as an opposition backed paper to allow for a greater analysis. Since Africa is such a large and diverse continent, the thesis will be focus on two nations in Sub-Saharan Africa; Namibia and Zimbabwe. Namibia is one of the most democratic countries on the continent whilst Zimbabwe is one of the least democratic. This comparative case will give a strong inclination for what the sub-Saharan African perspective is of China in Africa. China has since 2006 aimed at improving African economies by focusing on development in infrastructure, a critical factor holding Africa back from expanding their economies. Therefore, it will be particularly interesting to research how state owned media report of infrastructural related issues. The media reports will be analysed using the Entman framing approach. This will give the reader a comprehensive understanding the powerfulness of how a story in the media is framed.
Readers Guide
To fully comprehend the African perspective of China in Africa, this thesis will provide a brief historical summary of China in Africa, China in Namibia, and China in Zimbabwe. This will allow for the audience to garner an insight into the historical roots of China in Africa, which is often missed by Western media. This will be followed by a literature review in order to place the research into the existing academic body of knowledge. The reader will then find a brief description of the theoretical framework of Social Constructivism, as well an explanation of the chosen analytical framework, the Entman framing approach. Succeeding the description of the analytical framework is a section on the methodological approach of the research. This will detail the research process as well as highlight the strengths and limitations of the Entman approach.
The main part of the thesis will consist of the empirical analysis by two state-owned newspapers and one privately owned opposition backed paper. The privately owned paper will allow for a greater nuance, as well as allowing an insight into what the political elite would want the population to believe. In conclusion, this thesis will end with a discussion of the main findings, whilst suggesting policy recommendations and concluding remarks. Ultimately, this thesis will show that China has an overall positive image in sub-Saharan Africa.
History of China in Africa
Historically, China can trace its routes of influence in Africa to the 14th century, when the infamous Chinese fleet under general Zhang sailed to seek if there was anything to learn from, outside of ‘the middle Kingdom’ (Chaponnière, 2013). In contemporary terms, China has been in Africa since 1949, following the end of the Chinese Civil War, where Mao held the first Sino-African friendship summit (Cheru & Obi, 2011, pg. 73).
During the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, Mao perceived of Africa as a continent full of potential allies, and with Marxist zeal, endeavoured to supply, influence and support independence uprisings across the continent. Countries like Zambia and Tanzania received weapons and logistical support to fight their white minority governments (Hess & Aidoo, 2010, pg. 362). In the 1980s, China pursued a ‘non-interference’ form of relations with Africa, through which gained it more popularity amongst African states, who were still reeling from revolutionary and civil wars, and preferred aid without conditional effects to aid given to them by many Western states (Hess & Aidoo, 2010, pg. 263). This would become known as the Beijing Consensus, of which viewed the Washington consensus with scepticism.
The Major turning point in Sino-African relations is in 2006, for the 50th anniversary of FOCAC, where forty-eight African nations met in the Chinese capital Beijing. At the time, this was the largest international summit ever to be held in China (Marks, 2007, pg. 1). The then premier Wen Jiabao announced a $3 billion package which would see preferential loans to African countries and substantial debt cancellation. He also pledged to:
- Double its assistance to Africa in three years. - Provide $3 billion worth loans.
- $2 billion future buyer credit within three years.
- Set up a $5 billion Sino-Africa development fund, encouraging Chinese companies to invest in Africa.
- Cancel debt in the formation of interest-free loans. - Loosen trade barriers on exports to China from Africa.
- Train 15,000 African professionals & send over 100 Agricultural experts to Africa within three years.
- Build 10 specialised agriculture centres, 30 hospitals, 30 malaria treatment centres & 100 schools within three years.
- Provide 2,000-4,000 scholarships to Africans to study in China within three years.
- An ongoing commitment to provide aid in infrastructure and investment over the next decade (ibid., pg. 2-3).
This constitutes one of the biggest packages ever for the African continent; they did not have any ‘strings attached’ in terms of democratic reform or other terms dictated by a world power, as was custom with aid received from countries who share the Washington consensus. This deal is why this date has been chosen as the starting point for researching articles on the African perception of China in Africa. It is when China decided to actively exert greater influence over the continent, thus providing an important date for measuring the perception from.
The following two sub-chapters will detail the history of China in Namibia, as well as China in Zimbabwe.
A brief history of China in Namibia
Namibia and China, over the past fifty years, have shared a strong friendship on the international stage due to their mutual opposition to colonialism and imperialism. In the 1960s, through to the 1990s, Namibia as its modern entity did not exist. It was known as South West Africa and was a part of the Republic of South Africa since the First World War. As a former German colony, it was handed to the British who then gave the running of the colony to the Republic of South Africa in 1918 (Amadhila, 2013, pg. 16). During the 1960s Namibia fought for independence, simultaneously with many other African nations.. Much of the indigenous population also opposed the white Apartheid government and society that were put in place by the South Africans. The Peoples Republic of China made its first foray into Namibia by supporting the Namibian Indigenous Rebels. Later, they would support a more organised movement, the SWAPO (ibid, pg. 16).
The SWAPO was the organised liberation party of Namibia which had Marxist Roots. Admiring China’s ability to oust its own imperialist powers, SWAPO aimed for similar results while relying on logistical and moral support. China was one of the first countries to fully recognise Namibia as an independent country (ibid., pg. 18). The Namibian government, which has been ruled by SWAPO democratically since the 1990s, has used the narrative that China’s influence and support were crucial to its independence and international recognition, and used this to justify the strengthening of its relations between the two countries. There has been growing presence of Chinese businesses and ethnic Chinese living in Namibia since independence (ibid., 2013, pg. 20).
A brief history of China in Zimbabwe
The Sino-Zimbabwean relationship dates back to 1979, as part of the Rhodesian Bush War. Zimbabwe did not yet exist in its modern format and was known under its previous colonial name, Rhodesia. Rhodesia was made up geographically of modern day Zimbabwe, as well as parts of Botswana and Zambia (Eisman, 2005). The Bush War was led by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF against the White Apartheid Rhodesian government. Originally, the ZANU-PF, as a Marxist based party, attempted to gain support from the Soviet Union, but was rebuffed on several occasions. This led them to turn to support from the next great communist power, China. China provided arms and moral support for the rest of the Bush War. Upon independence, China was one of the first countries in which Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations, thanking them for their support (Eisman, 2005).
Since 2003, China’s influence in Zimbabwe has grown substantially. Zimbabwe found itself in a political stalemate with the European Union, facing sanctions and flight of capital, due to the treatment of white farmers by the government with their land reforms. White farmers were being forcibly removed from their land, with the land being redistributed amongst the indigenous Zimbabwean population. On top of this, Zimbabwe was facing sanctions for electoral fraud, and corruption (Eisman, 2005). China’s policy of non-interference meant that this was Zimbabwe’s only sizable international ally. In more recent years, Zimbabwe has introduced a ‘looking east’
policy, focusing their trade and partnership efforts on China (Chun, 2014, pg. 8-10). The following chapter will examine existing literature f the African perspective.
Literature Review
There are a number of previously completed studies on the African perspective of China that point to a positive perception of China. Recently polls were taken through the ‘Afrobarometer’ (a public research project) as well as by individual scholars that/who perceive China’s influence in Africa as positive (Hanush, 2012, pg. 494-495; Rebel 2010; Russel, 2014; Nassanga & Makara, 2015 pg. 4-5). Results found through the rich data from the Afrobarometer suggests China is not perceived any differently from any other world power. Africans generally believe China is a force for good, in their countries only slightly less than the former colonial powers (the UK, France, Portugal) or, the US. However, they are viewed significantly more positive than the African powerhouses, South Africa and Nigeria (Hanush, 2012, pg. 493).
Mark Hanush’s use of the ‘Afrobarometer’ gives a good understanding of the ‘grassroots’ view (with grassroots farmers, workers, etc. are signified) of China in Africa by surveying the general population. However, it does not analyse the view of the political elite, of the respective countries he analysed. It is crucial to analyse the political elite and those who have power over a large portion of the population and have most the resources to sway the opinion of the masses. Moreover, they ultimately have power over policy and decision making of China’s actions within their countries.
Nonetheless, Chinese imports into Africa are seen as damaging to the African economy. It may ruin chances for local businesses to evolve and develop, due to the mass producing power of the Chinese economy. If African attitudes keep this perception and do not change towards the idea of international trade, we could possibly see a decrease in popularity as import volumes increase (Hanush, pg. 509). Additionally, a correlation between principles of ESC (Economic, Social & Cultural) human rights and the perception of China in Africa has been found (Hanush, pg. 509-510). Countries that have a stronger inclination to favour ESC human rights, are more likely to see China as a force for good when investing in their own states (Hanush, pg. 509-510). It has also been that the negative impact of imports is reduced when respondents of the Afrobarometer survey were concerned with reducing poverty within their state . Finally, those concerned with
CP (Central and Political) human rights were more critical of China for they have more concern for the state of democracy than states who are not (Hanush, pg. 509-510).
This CP human rights perception plays well with many African leaders, such as Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, who sees economic development and democracy as two mutually exclusive objectives (Karumbidza, 2007, pg. 103). This position is reinforced when examining China’s own history, where Deng Xiaoping lifted 400 million people out of poverty, without democratising the one party system in China (ibid., pg. 107).
Although Western scholars portray and display the Chinese as imperialistic as they export their own labour force to Africa to work rather than employing and training the local population; there is limited evidence to suggest that the practice of hiring specifically Chinese workers is widespread. According to Bautman and Yan (2016), “most Chinese-owned firms, however, have localised workforces, despite skills shortages even in Africa’s more developed countries”. The authors go as far as to argue that in Zambia, a country with strong anti-Chinese sentiment, “[workers’] conditions outside mining are worse than inside it and often worse at Zambian-owned firms than at foreign-Zambian-owned ones” (Bautman & Yan, 2013, pg. 149).
Sino-African relations experts Steve Hess and Richard Aidoo acknowledge that there are diverse reactions across the continent towards China’s growing presence, African political elite utilise these reactions to garner support and power in their respective styles of government (Hess & Aidoo, 2014, pg. 130). Hess and Aidoo take a different approach than Bautman and Yan when it comes to analysing the African Perspective of China in Africa. They decided to take analyse democratic institutions of African regimes rather than analyse the positive or negative nature of Chinese involvement.
The Peoples Republic of China offers African nations a no strings attached forms of aid and investment, which contrasts greatly to traditional Western lenders such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (Hess & Aidoo, 2014, pg. 130). This seems to be appreciated by public discourse. For instance, a statement made by former Sierra Leonean ambassador to China, Sahr Johnny:
“The Chinese are doing more than the G8 in making poverty history. If a G8 country had wanted to rebuild the stadium, we would still be holding meetings. The Chinese just come and do it. They don’t hold meetings about environmental impact assessment, human rights, bad governance and good governance. I’m not saying it’s right, just that Chinese investment is succeeding because they don’t set high benchmarks.” (Karumbidza, 2007, pg. 99)
Despite a mostly warm welcome from leaders of African states, the West is still hesitant, with some even considering China’s actions as that of a “new slave empire” (Hess & Aidoo, 2014, pg. 130). Moving away from the Western perspective which is full of pessimism, Hess and Aidoo examine the contrasting receptions of Chinese involvement in Africa by focusing on a comparison between Zambia and Ghana. Both Zambia and Ghana have seen a massive increase in trade with China while they both have domestic resentment towards the influx of Chinese workers, as well as their goods (ibid., pg. 131).
However, only Zambia has seen a political rise to power with former Zambian President, Michael Sata, running on an anti-China platform and which is on the opposite spectrum to Ghana. Ghana is considered a stable democratic state when compared to Zambia, which can arguably be seen as a democratic ‘transitional state’, due to the fact that over the past two decades it has only been relatively politically, free (ibid., pg. 134).
Hess and Aidoo come to the conclusion that the reason the Anti-China platform has succeeded in helping political elite win office in Zambia is due to the fact the originally incumbent party had power for much longer forcing the opposition to ‘creatively’ find a new way to secure votes (Hess & Aidoo, 2014, pg. 143).
In contrast, Ghana has had a relatively even political playing field, allowing the major parties to move appropriately with economic interests, seeing no benefit in slandering China for political gain. This is crucial to the study of Afro-Sino relations because “the primary difference in terms of China’s reception by the mass public in these two African cases has been determined by whether or not political elites have elected to place anti-Chinese sentiment on their political agendas” (ibid., pg. 144). However, both authors acknowledge these findings are preliminary, and further research is still required. This research acknowledges the importance and power that the political elite have on the greater African population when it comes to relations with China.
Hess and Aidoo strongly argue against popular writings, by claiming that resistance to China in Africa engagement is not directly related to the economic deficiencies of China’s style of investment. Instead, the primary difference in terms of China’s reception by the population in their two African state case studies is dependent on the strength of the democratic institutions.
An additional analysis by the scholar Lumumba-Kasongo addresses the Western concerns of whether or not China’s actions in Africa are neo-imperialist or neo-colonialist. This acknowledges that this is part of a greater question; “is China playing the role of a contemporary proxy of the old colonial system and its apparatuses in its new relationship with Africa? Is it taking advantage of the weaker states? (Lumumba-Kasongo, 2011, pg. 235).
China is currently Africa’s second-largest trading partner, after the United States. China is also the world’s second largest oil importer, trailing only behind the United States. Moreover, China is the second-largest consumer of African resources, again second only to the U.S. As of 2008, most of China’s purchases from Africa are oil (62 percent) and ores and metals (17 percent) (Lumumba-Kasongo, 2011, pg. 238). Put into a global context, China received 9 percent of Africa’s oil exports, Europe and the U.S. each took 33 percent. In other words, China
The author could not find evidence to support the claim of either imperialism or colonialism in Africa. To have a neo-imperialist system guided and supported by China, it is necessary to have and maintain a monopolistic ruling class in Africa. China has to produce a substantive segment of the population of Africa trained and educated in the Chinese institutions of higher learning and technical centres and who use the Mandarin as their working language like French and English (Lumumba-Kasongo, 2011, pg. 260). His research also states that no international relations theory holistically explains the unorthodox nature of the relationship between China and Africa. Relations between China and African countries are bilaterally consensual, economically motivated, and globally based on free market dictum.
In terms of media analysis completed on African nations, there has been limited whole African analyses due to the size of the continent (Nassanga & Makara, 2015), but there has been done in depth research for specific countries such as Uganda, which show a neutral or positive
perception of China. Media discourse can have powerful effects on public opinion (Van Dijk, 1996). Media is also important due to its influence in constructing a perceived reality for a state and its people socially (Mcquail 1994, pg. 331).
Additionally, it provides a reference point, in which its audience can refer to within their social reality. Tokonbo Ojo, an African Canadian scholar, has completed a media analysis on pan-African media diaspora. His paper has focused on the Sino-pan-African relationship perspective that is found in African media, as well as observing the presence of China in the socioeconomic and political spheres of many African countries is portrayed. His choice of media outlets that he garners his perspectives from are the The African Business and New African magazine (Ojo, 2015, pg. 1). He scours eighty articles over a ten-year period. His use of Pan-African magazines and an Afrocentric approach towards journalism allowed him to create a study in which Western perspective and influence are limited. Through both media outlets, he concludes that they present an overall positive image of Sino-African relations. His use of narrative framing approach allows for the perceptions to be better understood.
However, there are limitations in this study to take into account. Firstly, both news outlet headquarters are based in London, as opposed to Africa (Ojo, 2015, pg. 3). Secondly, he acknowledges the limitations of the reporting due to “the sensitivity to the interest of its readership as well as the potential advertisers” (Ojo, 2015, pg. 14). This magazine relies on advertisements from potential Chinese companies for revenue, which they wish to keep. Lastly, his research is limited due to the fact the main readership of the two Pan-African magazines have a median wealth of over a hundred thousand US dollars, a much higher income or wealth than the majority of Africans (Ojo, 2015, pg. 14)
In summary, there is an overall Western bias to frame China as a neo-imperialistic but this may be mostly untrue and unfounded fears. There have been issues with China’s companies and practices in Africa when it comes to hiring their own workers and treatment of African workers. However, they are no worse than that of African companies. Amongst Africans, there is a large and diverse range of opinions spanning the continent, with political leaders using anti-China vs. pro-China rhetoric to sway their population for power. Anti-China rhetoric seems to come from
states with weak democratic history, whilst more states with strong historical democratic institutions tend not to use anti-China rhetoric to gain power. Previous media analysis on Pan-African media showed media Sino-Pan-African relations in an overall positive light. However, perceptions are always changing and evolving. It is important to garner a fresher look. It is also important to garner the perceptions of different media outlets; state media outlets may differ from private as African owned versus western owned.
There is a need for a lively debate amongst scholars on African perspectives from the political elite on China in Africa. This thesis will contribute to this by providing a media analysis on Chinese activities within specific case study countries, Namibia & Zimbabwe. This will be explained in greater detail in the methodology section. This thesis will also garner a greater insight into what political elites would want their readers to perceive of China within their own country by studying Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Studies done in these two states have indicated that there is a myriad of opinions within them. This research will look for the State platform of which China is perceived by analysing State media. This will be done through the theoretical framework of Social constructivism and analytically operationalized through Entman’s framing approach.
Theoretical Framework: Social Constructivism
In order to answer the research question “what is the African Perspective of China in Africa over the past decade as shown in the African State Media?”, we can make use of the theoretical foundation of Social Constructivism. This theory will provide a framework that aids the analysis of the African perspective of China in Africa as shown in the African media.
Historically, Social constructivism has three major roots: Historical Materialism; early twentieth-century Philosophy of Science; and the Naturalized Epistemology. Historical Materialism was first developed by Karl Marx in the nineteenth century. It claims that “the economic base determines its superstructure… to generate testable historical theories or hypotheses about what, in various societies, the base and the superstructure are, and about the specific ways in which they are interrelated” (Detel, 2015, pg. 228).
The second root comes from the turn of the twentieth century, with the changing movement with the Philosophy of Science. They vigorously rejected traditional scientific realism, instead, they were believers in breaking the normative attitudes and non-scientific assumptions that were hidden in plain view (Detel., 2015, pg. 229).
Finally, the third theoretical background comes from the plan to naturalise Epistemology. The core idea of the naturalisation of epistemology is to see the replacement of “a scientific study of causal processes of belief formation and information” (Detel, 2015, pg. 229). This in a way, makes epistemology into a form measurable similar of a natural science.
In the broadest of sense, the core idea of Social Constructivism is that there are some things that are produced (or “constructed”) by social actions carried out between people (Detel, 2015, pg. 228). Social Constructivism argues, according to the scholar Wolfgang Detel (ibid), “that there are a lot of things that seem to depend on, at first sight, exclusively of nature and natural laws such that they could not be changed by human actions but that, on closer examination, turn out to be socially constructed and thus alterable by humans”. There are three different facets of Social Constructivism; Social Epistemology (beliefs in relation to the social nature of science and
knowledge), Strong Social Constructivism (deals with empirical facts), and Social Ontology (deals with the construction of the social realm in relation to the previous two facets), (Kuhn, 1962/1970).
Social Epistemology (also known as ‘weak’ Social Constructivism) uses the methodological assumption that scientific knowledge can be epistemologically enlightening through sociological analysis (Detel, 2015, pg. 228). However, there a two differing types of approaches to weak Social Constructivism; veristic and non-veristic. Veristic approach to weak Social Constructivism is in the pursuit of identifying and evaluating social interactions, cultural practices, and forces of influences (albeit positively or negatively). In other words, as Detel (idem, pg. 229) states, “the pursuit of truth includes communicational acts, institutional structures that frame such acts… speech practices of reporting and arguing, ways of access to different sorts of information”. This includes universities, published journals, speeches and news reports and so on.
The non-veristic approach is the concept that scientific and empirical results do not rely exclusively on the objective, outside world in which would make scientific beliefs or claims true or false. Rather, it instead relies on our social dispositions, that result from negotiations between scientific minds taking place in scientific practices (ibid., 2015, pg. 230). In other words, what we know empirically, and scientifically, is socially determined. According to scholar and proponent of Social Constructivism, Wolfgang Detel, non-veristic Social Constructionist, “is best understood as being part of a naturalised epistemology concentrating on the investigation of social causes of belief formation. In the methodological version, non-veristic Social Constructivism does not seem to be committed to ontological claims; however, it remains committed at least to the epistemological claim that scientific knowledge cannot simply be seen as an adequate representation of the external objective world” (ibid., 2015, pg. 230).
In this context, social constructivism is a form of anti-realism and anti-rationalism. Opposition to non-veristic approaches to Social Constructivism is “that the leading studies use empirical, sociological, and historical evidence to justify fundamental and far-reaching claims that are supposed to debunk the epistemic authority and universal rationality of the sciences” (ibid., 2015,
pg. 231). This opposition can be counteracted for the for reason, that by using this claim they must use historical and cultural evidence.
The second facet of Social Constructivism is known as Radical (or Strong) Social Constructivism. It furthers the claim that the world we live in is socially constructed. However, they believe that ’beliefs’ themselves can be turned into hardened facts. It distinguishes itself from the causal constructionists by holding that activity by people cause and sometimes maintain facts of the world, declaring that facts of the world are nothing but human actions (idem, pg. 232).
Social Constructivism final facet deals with the social ontology and elves in the realm of International Relations. In relation to International Relations, Social Constructivism acknowledges that perceptions are not fixed to scientific fact, but are socially determined (ibid. 2015, pg. 232). It deals with a number of assumptions.
Firstly, within the social science of International Relations, objective truth in unanimous and inseparable with subjective opinion, since knowledge is part of social construct (ibid., pg. 232). Secondly, it notes that believe formation and a casual process can be analysed through science, thus rejecting the scientific realist approach and the claim that a universal scientific method and law exists (idem, pg. 231, Goldman, 2006). Social constructivist International Relations theory urges the concept that international relations are social, not materialist. In other words, “they are a human creation relying on human ideas guiding political actors moving in the international scene. In this sense, international relations are socially constructed” (idem, pg. 232). With this lens, International Relations is socially constructed. It culminates in the claim that power and interest have an effect of the ‘veritas’ of ideas and surmise them. This perspective opposes the traditional international relations theorists, especially neo-realists. This is because they traditionally explore ways in which ‘power-items’ (economic power, military strength, etc.) determine relations and the balance of power between states (ibid., pg. 232).
The fact there are such polarity and sheer diversity amongst Africans on China’s presence in Africa means that there is no consensus. When observing this aspect, it becomes clear that Social Constructivism is a key theoretical framework in understanding the perspective of the
African political elite. It allows for the concept that information is socially constructed to own ideas and heavily influenced by power and interest. It is the social and cultural norms that determine of political behaviour and actions. Therefore, the use of Social Constructivism allows for an approach that may not allow for the generalising results or, the transferring from case to case, or actor to actor. It does, however, allow for a deeper understanding of perceptions, attitudes and assumptions of a particular actor that they have constructed.
The following section will conceptualise Social Constructivism in the field through a specific framing process; Entman’s framing approach.
Analytical Framework: Entman's Framing Approach
In terms of operationalising Social Constructivism, we can do so with Entman’s framing approach. Emphasising on media discourse analysis allows for the focus of how particular ‘frames’ invoked the construction of social images of reality (McQuail, 1994, pg. 331). Framing in this context is to choose some aspects of a perceived reality and accentuate them more in the platform you are trying to communicate, in an attempt to push a particular problem, causal interpretation, moral judgement, and or, potential remedy for the item described (Entman 1993, pg. 52). In others, like a doctor, diagnose the problem, evaluate it, and prescribe treatment. An example that Robert Entman himself uses is the ‘Cold War’ frame from American news outlets on foreign affairs for the better half of the 20th century. He uses the International Relations issue civil wars as the event, communist guerrilla fighters as the source of the problem, communistic aggression as the moral judgement, and finally the commendation of a solution of which is US involvement or support for the opposition (Entman, 1993, pg. 52).The way media portrays certain information provides its audience with ‘schemas’ for the interpretation of different events (ibid.). According to Entman, media frames focus on a minimum of one of the following functions;
1. determining the forces that have created the problem, 2. defining related conditions or effects,
3. making moral judgments of causal agents,
4. or proposing or justifying solutions to the problem and estimating their anticipated effects (ibid. 52).
In other words, using a particular frame (or frames in our case) highlights a particular facet of reality whilst concealing other elements of reality. This can result in differentiating reactions from their target audience.
To more deeply comprehend these frames, one must understand the four locations of which are a part of the communication process. The four locations are; the communicator, the text, the receiver, and the culture. The communicator makes the conscious effort of framing perceptions in deciding what to say that organises their belief system. The text contains frames in which are
manifested by words, phrases and imagery. The thematically reinforce (or enforce) facts and judgments the communicator wants you to receive. The receiver is guided by frames that may (or, may not) reflect the intention of the communicator. The culture in this discourse in the frame in which the majority of people are thinking (idem, pg. 52-53).
Frames work by highlighting specific parts of information about an item or event, that are subjected to some form of communication, which then elevates this specific part in prominence (idem, pg. 53). Making even the slightest piece of information more prominent, can enhance and change the importance and the reception, and thus, perception of that information, which then becomes ‘knowledge’.
The power of framing and its ability to highlight or, omit specific details in shaping reality can be seen in the 1984 experiment by Kahneman and Tversky. They posed the question:
Imagine that the US is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows: If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved. If Program B is adopted, there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved. Which of the two programs would you favour? (Kahneman and Tversky, 1984, pg. 343)
The result concurred that 72% of participants chose program A, whilst only 28% chose program B. They then asked the same question again. However, this time, it was ‘inverted’. Instead of saving lives, they stated it would (i.e., 400 people die as opposed to 200 people saved and one-third 600 saved with two-one-thirds chance 600 people die). This resulted in a complete opinion change with the participant and an exact reversal of results (Kahneman and Tversky, 1984, pg. 343-344). This experiment brilliantly illustrates the impact frames have on how people acknowledge, interpret and react to information. It shows that positioning of a frame has an impact on a large portion of an audience. The scholar Edelman (Edelman, 1993, pg. 232) sums up the strength of frames with selective description and omission by stating; “the character, causes, and consequences of any phenomenon become radically different as changes are made in what is prominently displayed what is repressed and especially in how observations are
classified… [The world] is a kaleidoscope of potential realities, any of which can be readily evoked by altering the ways in which observations are framed and categorised”. This statement shows just how well framing ties into social constructivism.
In terms of frames shown in a political sense, frames call for emphasis to some elements, to cause the audience to move in a certain direction. Political elite seeking support are compelled to compete with journalists (or in some cases use them) to frame the news text in a way that it imprints political power. For this very reason, Entman’s framing approach emphasises the importance of frames in playing a role in exercising political power. Entman himself states that “The frame in a news text is really the imprint of power it registers the identity of actors or interests that compete to dominate the text” (Entman, 1993, pg. 55). The scholar Entman uses pre-First Gulf War US policy towards Iraq. There was an implied and implicit consensus amongst US political elite not to push for options of mediation between Iraq and Kuwait. They framed the news in which there could only be two remedies; sanctions or all-out war whilst the problems, casual analysis and moral judgements were homogenous (ibid.). If anyone thought to operate outside these pushed remedies of the political elite, they were likely not to be heard nor influence policy. This action can also be seen in the literature already covered in this thesis. Michael Sata became president of Zambia by pushing an anti-China message that, “Zambia is becoming a province…make that a district of China” (Hess and Aidoo, 2014, pg. 129). He created an environment where news frames were self-reinforcing. Once a term is widely accepted by a population, to use a different one can alienate the communicator from his or her target audience, and even potentially be seen as losing credibility (Entman, 1993, pg. 55). This shows the strength and power a frame has on language and news itself.
Using these rules should prove useful for identifying African government perspective of ‘China in Africa’ as shown in African media. African political elite seeking to influence their audiences (Africans, not the West nor China) minds, may feel compelled to influence journalists through portraying China in greater or, lesser light as an exertion of political power.
This thesis will analyse State media outlets of Zimbabwe, to understand the frame in which African political elites want to be perceived by their own population in relation to China in Africa. The following section shall describe the methods of analysis and illustrate the data I have
used. These sections will also display benefits and weaknesses of using Entman’s framing approach, in answering the question; What is the African perspective of China in Africa, as shown in state media since 2006.
Benefits of using the Entman Framing approach:
The Entman framing approach is important because it enables us to have insight into the socially constructed reality in which African elites would like to impact on their people. Within the framing approach that will be operationalised, we also were given a valuable insight to understanding the perceptions of African government elites. There are for major benefits in using a consistent framing approach as a method of data collection and analysis; audience autonomy, journalistic objectivity, content analysis, and public opinion and normative democratic theory. Audience autonomy is the concept that framing provides and operationalise dominant meaning in the audience decoding the media texts. From a framing perspective, a dominant meaning has consisted of the problem, cause, evaluation and solution of which is presented which is the most likely to be noticed, accepted and processed that the creator wants (Entman, 1993, pg. 56). It suggests that the particular frame is the most heavily supported by the media text it, “is congruent with the most common audience schemata” (Entman, 1993, pg. 56). In terms of social science, if the emphasis of the text frame is that the glass is ‘half-full’, as opposed to ‘half-empty’ very few people challenge it.
Journalistic objectivity refers to the activity of when journalists may follow the rules of ethical reporting and aim to remain ‘objective’ yet they still convey the dominant frame of news due to employment pressures or, personal restraints (Entman, 1993, pg. 56-57). In most cases journalists may lack the training to challenge the dominant frame or include oppositional facts in their reporting to create a truly objective report.
In Zimbabwe’s case, there is more to it. According to Freedom House, Zimbabwe press and democratic process are related ‘not-free’ (Freedom house, 2016). Its world overall ranking for press freedom in 2013 was 170 out of 192 countries (Freedom house, 2013). The ZANU-PF exerts great control over media in Zimbabwe, with the ability to exclude, expel and fire
journalists if they report in a light that is not favourable (Machingura, 2012, pg. 446). This does mean, however; we are given a strong insight into frames of which political elites want us to see. Content analysis is the important task of identifying, determining and describing the frames salience and power (Entman, 1993, pg. 57). Without the use of the Entman framing paradigm, content analysis may fail to interpret the message that the audience is intended to receive.
The final benefit of using the Entman framing approach is known as the public opinion and normative democratic theory. In relation to the democratic process, the political elite has control over the frames that are presented to the public, and in turn, what ‘is’ the manifestation of public opinion (Entman, 1993, pg. 57). Although Zimbabwe has democratic institutions and a constitution in place, the democratic process has been deteriorated by the ZANU-PF, politically being rated ‘not free’ (Freedom house, 2016). This means that the political elite has an even stronger control over the direction of public opinion, as illuminated through a framing paradigm.
These benefits will help achieve the goal of this thesis which is to assess the African perspective on china in Africa since 2006, through the invoking of frames. However, it must be noted that there are some disadvantages of using this method. The following subsection will highlight the main disadvantages of this method.
Disadvantages of the Method:
Despite the many strengths of using a framing paradigm in researching the African perspective of China in Africa, there are still some drawbacks to the method. Firstly, The Herald is controlled by the ZANU-PF. Secondly, all the newspapers analysed are located in the capital cities of Zimbabwe and Namibia respectively. This means that the focus will be firstly on the issues facing the city as opposed the countryside, as well as a tendency to focus on the positive image for those who do not regular visit the rural areas. Another issue is that the cost of physical newspapers is equivalent to US $1, which is still out of reach for a large part of the native population (Machingura, 2012, pg. 446). Articles from The Herald papers are available for free via the “Zimpapers” website, but this is also an issue, for only 40% of the Zimbabwean population has access to the internet, which in turn is censored by the government (Kabweza, 2014)
Another issue is that often to what is being referred to ‘China’ in Africa. In some cases, China represents the political embodiment of the Chinese government, and in other cases a Chinese owned company. There may be a discrepancy in what bias is presented.
The final and arguably most important weakness of this approach are that this method does not allow for direct access and assess the opinions of the African elite. Therefore, the empirical results of this thesis should be comprehended as tendencies that reflect how the China in Africa is perceived by African elites. Also the fact that this thesis is looking at only two sub-Saharan states as opposed to all states (due to time constraints), one could argue that this does not fully represent an African perspective through state media. However, due to the similar histories (IE colonialism, the FOAOC summit, etc.), the findings of this paper can still be used as a future reference in future research.
Another issue is that these newspapers are in English, which despite being widely spoken and an official language of government, it is only one of the sixteen languages of the country for Zimbabwe, and eleven for Namibia. This means that this may not represent the government platform for the regional areas in which the depth of knowledge or regularity of the use of the English language may be minimal.
In the subsequent chapter, the finding of the empirical analysis which has been based on the Entman’s framing approach, with the social constructivist theoretical framework, coupled with the basing of a wide range of literature, will allow me to provide an educated and profound interpretation of results.
Methodology and Data
As aforementioned in the previous chapter, the aim of this thesis is to garner an understanding of the African perspective on ‘China in Africa’ as shown through state media since 2006. In this thesis, I will apply Entman’s framing approach with a qualitative method of assessment by firstly, analysing the selection and presentation, the semantics and the structure of words and sentences within the media texts. Secondly, I will provide an interpretative account of the media texts by linking the frames with the broader geopolitical frame of investment and infrastructure by China within sub-Saharan African states. This will be done by analysing newspaper articles from The Herald from Zimbabwe and the New Era from Namibia using the Entman framing approach that has been outlined in the theoretical chapter. The Herald newspaper is state-owned and is the most popular newspapers in terms of circulation within Zimbabwe according to the International research and exchanges board (Machingura, 2012, pg. 448). As with other states around the world, the majority of the population tend to rely on key elite new publications for their information (Nassanga & Makara, 2015, p. 6).
Articles were selected academically using the program ‘Lexis Nexis’. Lexis Nexis collates newspaper articles from different newspapers from around the world. They then sort articles through a rigorous algorithm into different categories from diplomacy to infrastructure and so on.
Specifically, for this comparative case study and media analysis, when searching for articles I focused on Chinese activities within each African state of the respective newspaper. For The Herald, I searched the key terms ‘China’, ‘Chinese’, ‘Zimbabwe’ and ‘infrastructure’. Whilst with the New Era and The Namibian I searched key terms ‘China’, ‘Chinese’, ‘Namibia’ and ‘infrastructure’.
This approach means that they number of articles available were cut down from the thousands to the hundreds to be analysed. Of the articles cross referenced of these, we were left with 84 articles in total which truly focused on Chinese activities within the newspapers own actual state
in relation to infrastructure projects. I separated news articles from opinion pieces and editorials. These eighty-four articles cover a six-year time span from September 2010 till May 2016.
The biggest disappointment and frustration with using the Lexis Nexis programme is the lack of depth annually with the articles. Ultimately, we would want to use articles from 2006, the 50th anniversary of Sino-African relations, till 2016. Unfortunately, Lexis Nexis, the largest source of news articles that have been digitally transcribed, only dates these African paperbacks from 2010. This still allows for a strong indication of African perceptions of China in Africa through, but it is not as strong as it could be.
The analysing of state-owned media enables us to view the perception in which the government wants its people to have with China in Africa. This is important because it enables us to have insight into the socially constructed reality in which African elites would like to impact on their people. They are also both controlled through the state body organ of the Zimbabwe media commission. The Herald was arguably one of the most reliable newspapers until government crackdown under the Mugabe government in the late 1980s, early 1990s (Machingura, 2012, pg. 449). Its base is in the capital, Harare, the largest city in Zimbabwe. The Herald is in English, the country’s official language of the press and government, due to its former history as a British colony. There are sixteen official languages throughout Zimbabwe. These newspapers are important for they allow for an important insight into the thinking and perception of the Zimbabwean government. Newspapers are the most important source of information for Zimbabweans with 83-90% of the population being literate (Wilkinson 2015, web). The second most popular form of news receiving in the country in through radio, which there are only four stations (all controlled by the government) and only accesses 30% of the population as the preferred news source (Machingura, 2012, pg. 446-447).
The New Era is a state-owned newspaper based in Windhoek, the capital and largest city of Namibia and is one of the four largest daily national papers. It is published in English, as well as four other national languages of Namibia. It is considered by SWAPO friendly (the ruling party of Namibia) similar to that, however, media is much less restricted than in Zimbabwe, with press be considered ‘free’ with a rating of 14/16 in freedom of expression and belief (Freedom House,
2015). Namibia is also considered the fourth most democratic country in Sub-Saharan Africa, being seen as one of the freer states on the continent (Freedom House, 2015).
Using both Zimbabwe and Namibia will allow for a comparison due their strong similarities and yet, important defining differences. Firstly, they are both sub-Saharan African nations, with similar colonial histories, geographic similarities and language. They were both colonised by the British, then controlled by Apartheid governments, both have had ‘south-south’ co-operation from China when fighting for their respective independence, and both became independent states in the 1980s. This meant upon independence they were left with similar institutions of which to push forward with. On top of this, they both have several national languages, with the English language is the language government and business for both these countries.
Secondly, Namibia, as mentioned earlier, considered one of the most democratic and stable countries on the continent, with a decent economy and a ‘partly-free press’, due to the fact in recent years’ government officials have verbally criticised the press (Freedom house, 2015). It is still considered one of the freest press networks in Africa. In contrast to this, Zimbabwe is almost the complete opposite, with political instability and press that is deemed ‘not free’ (Freedom House, 2016). This will allow for a good comparison.
Finally, China has placed strong investments in both these countries (Chen, 2009; Romani, 2016). This will also enable to build further on the Hess and Aidoo (2013) conclusion that democratic countries use less anti-China rhetoric compared to less democratic ones by studying two other sub-Saharan states, this time, through media analysis and an Entman framing approach.
To cross reference, the political elite perception of China in Africa as shown in state media, I have also included an analysis of the opposition backed Namibian newspaper, The Namibian. The Namibian is the largest daily newspaper in Namibia and was started in 1985 through weekly donations to help promote Namibian independence. Prior to independence, the paper was known for reporting human rights abuses and was considered pro-SWAPO. However, post-independence it remained critical of the government activities leading it to be boycotted by the government from 2000 till 2011, which mean it was not allowed to be on display in government
buildings, nor was it allowed to be bought with government funding. It is now considered the opposition backed paper.
Due to the tightly controlled media and lack of press freedom in Zimbabwe, there is no African owned opposition or independent newspaper in Zimbabwe. There are however some Western media outlets, such as the BBC and Sky News who are allowed to broadcast inside Zimbabwe. However, these are Western owned news sources and not as an African one. Therefore, I have not included them in my research.
In relation to China in Africa, I have chosen to concentrate on articles concerning infrastructure within Namibia and Zimbabwe, analysing the language used. I am looking to identify positive versus negative language in certain areas (e.g. Chinese built mine is economic miracle versus environmental degradation).
Empirical Analysis Section
The following chapter will go into detailed analysis of articles pertaining to infrastructure and investment in the respective African states (Namibia & Zimbabwe) by China, as shown in state media since 2006. This will be through the four points of the Entman framing approach: (1) determining the forces that have created the problem; (2) defining related conditions or effects; (3) making moral judgments of causal agents; and (4) proposing or justifying solutions to the problem and estimating their anticipated effects (Entman 1993, pg. 52). For example, a problem might be seen as ailing roads due to lack of funding and expertise. The Chinese will be seen as the solution to the problem as well as the great saviour and builder.
There is a great importance of how media frames information for it influences just how people think. Using state media allows for an insight of the political communication that is shown and accepted within each country. There are twenty-four articles that have been analysed and used for Namibian perception of China from the New Era, and thirty-five from The Namibian whilst twenty-five articles have been analysed for the Zimbabwean Perception (see graph 1.1). Ultimately, this reveals that both state media show an overall positive frame of China as equal ‘south-south’ co-operative ally as well as a preferred world economic power than the West. However, Namibian state media includes critical frames of Chinese involvement within their country as opposed to China’s lack thereof.
Throughout all papers retrieved through Lexis Nexis that focused on China within their specific countries, it must be noted that the African newspapers make little distinction between infrastructure, investment, industry and aid. It appears, in the eyes of the newspapers, to that strong infrastructure is only possible with strong investment and aid from foreign countries, such as China.
Namibia Infrastructure and China Perceived by the New Era
Throughout articles written in the New Era newspaper, there is an overall positive frame shown on Chinese investing in Namibia. Namibia, like many sub-Saharan African nations, has had to rely on the foreign aid and investment to repair, improve and even create new forms of infrastructure in their country, that has not been done since they ‘shook off’ their colonial chains. It is clear throughout these articles that China has had a massive role in improving Namibian infrastructure. They have done this through wiping off foreign debt, building ports and roads, selling low-cost trains, building classrooms and other investments in the country. However, despite all these positives, the New Era still recognises that Chinese involvement in Namibia is not always perfect. It acknowledges the issue of unskilled Chinese labour, possible corruption in airport contracts, and the tardy construction of a much-needed shipping port in the coastal town of Walvis Bay. In terms of framing China in Africa in terms of infrastructure, we can see China as the job creator, job stealer and swindler, and as the great investor.
China the Job Creator:
As with many nations in this contemporary day and age, the employment market is of much concern. This holds true arguably even more so within sub-Saharan countries, like Namibia. Unemployment is the problem, often caused poor infrastructure and lack of opportunities for learning skills and employment themselves. China and Chinese contractors are seen as the solution to this unemployment epidemic. Of the 24 articles analysed within the state-owned New Era, ten articles focus on job creation and employment by China in Namibia in terms of infrastructure. Chinese-owned companies are responsible for many infrastructure projects throughout Namibia, as well as greater sub-Saharan Africa. Namibia is a former British colony, which has heavily controlled by Southern African Apartheid government and did not achieve true independence in until the late 1980s, early 1990s. It suffers from a high unemployment rate and a majority of its pre-existing infrastructure is colonial.
When covering these infrastructure projects, the New Era tends to focus on job creation and skill transferring for Namibian employs. This can be seen in the “Road Authority Contracts Chinese Firm” article. The article discusses how a Chinese firm had been awarded the contract to create two bridges in rural Namibia that will take a period of roughly 16 months. It asserts, “150 jobs would be created for Namibians living in that area” (Kapitako, 2011, pg. 1). The author then states that “[only] 10 employees would be Chinese nationals” (Kapitako, 2011, pg. 1). By providing this juxtaposition, it frames the Chinese company in a positive light, employing far more of the local population than their own nationality.
This is again seen in the 2013 article on the N$575 million road upgrade project which was awarded to a Chinese firm. Despite the overall warm congratulatory tone of the article in terms of the Chinese, it automatically highlights that this project would directly provide 300 jobs to locals with the project (Okondjatu, 2013, pg. 1). The warm congratulatory tone is an echo across articles praising and seeking job creation and skill transferring in relation to the Chinese. In the same year, Namibia articulated its need to ‘woo’ Chinese investment (Brandt, 2013, pg. 1). This increase in investment in infrastructure related projects, we see majority positive tone. The importance of job creation by the Chinese is a point that is carried on through the years, being a major focus of the 2015 article “New era of China-Africa relations”. This article does discuss in broad terms of south-south cooperation and a positive future of China-African relations. However, it places a strong and important focus on how China has provided plenty of job creation and skill transferal for all of Africa. The article boasts:
“There were 3,000 Chinese companies running their business in Africa, with over 32.35 billion US dollars' direct investments. More than 85% of the employees in those companies are local people. China-Africa cooperation contributes more than 20% to the economic growth of Africa… Nowadays 41,000 African students are studying in China, among which 7,800 have been awarded Chinese government scholarships… trained over 6,000 local medical workers and cured 270 million patients. China has built 30 anti-malaria centres and 23 agri-technology demonstration centres in Africa and trained 81,000 local technicians in various sectors.” (New Era, 2015, pg.1-2)
In terms of Namibia, the New Era newspaper declares that six thousand-plus jobs have been created by the Chinese alone (New Era, 2015, pg. 1). This rhetoric is in line with scholastic research by Hanusch (2012) as well as Hess and Aidoo (2014), amongst others, that the Chinese are perceived in a very positive light across sub-Saharan Africa. It also shows that China is perceived to play an important part as a job creator for many nations considered to be developing economies. The following section will discuss the negative light shown through Chinese appearing as job thieves as well as poor managers of Africans.
China the Job Stealer and swindler:
Despite an overall positive tone given by the Namibian state media towards China, six articles of the 20 articles that focus on Chinese in Africa, as related to infrastructure, are directly negatively framed. These articles acknowledge potential corruption for contracts and poor treatment of Namibian workers. China (or rather, Chinese contractors) is seen as close the root cause of the problem, rather than the solution. However, despite these negative aspects involving the Chinese, it is often shown as a minor issue, Namibian government fault or, that the Chinese are doing the best they can remedy the situation. The judgement of the Chinese is not critical.
Two of these articles focus on major infrastructure projects, the trans-Namibian railway and the Namibian national airport project. Three of these articles focus on political and sector platforms towards Chinese labourers, whilst the latter article deal with the responses of worker treatment. On top of this, in other articles that address China in a positive light, they also address China’s need and actions in addressing this issue.
One of the most important infrastructure projects that China is involved in is the TransNamib railway. First created in colonial times it has had now major upgrades or improvements since the end of the apartheid (Sasman, 2010, pg. 1). Apart from old age, it has also been ravaged by civil war, which means delays becoming a regular thing. The new locomotives were bought and made in China. Due to the cost and difficulty in receiving replacements parts, there have been further delays and increasing cost (Sasman, 2010). Despite the faults with the Chinese made products, the judgement is placed on the poorly functioning TransNamib railway company, which is state-owned, citing their lack of profit-making since 2000, despite being a crucial part of the mining sector (Sasman, 2010, pg. 2).
More recently, the contract to build and operate the Namibian international airport in the capital Windhoek was given to a Chinese company at the cost of N$7 billion, N$4 billion higher than that of its competitor, a Turkish company (Dateline, 2015, pg. 1). When the Turkish company approached the Namibian government they were met with silence, as the details of the contract have not been released by either the Chinese or, the Namibian government. This does not show fault by any party but, it does pose the frame of possible corruption between the Namibian government and the Chinese. This highlights the difficulties and the fallibility with a relation with China as the operate in Africa.
