Abstract:

When the European colonial powers could not set sail to the African continent and discover it, they termed it the “Dark Continent.” They compensated for the lack of information they had by developing their narratives.

“Africa has dense forests, where wild beasts live and crocodiles lay in wait. It is a land of danger, disease, and death.”

However, Africa has become a focal point of interest for all the countries around the world. In light of this, global players developed foreign policies toward Africa, namely India and China. Both countries have adopted different policies to foster their relationship with Africa and we shall seek to understand which of them serves a long-term sustainability goal.

Problem statement:

Will India use its soft power or succumb to the cheque book diplomacy strategy used by China to develop a strategic relationship with Africa?

Bottom-line-up-front:India and China are developing their engagements with Africa proactively. But they’ve adopted very different approaches to further their ties. The Chinese strategy of involvement has received massive backlash across the continent. African countries like Djibouti, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola have been at the highest risk for debt distress and have often taken Indian help to boost their financial pool.

So what?: As India seeks to become a net security provider, it becomes important to extend cooperation with African countries in domains of defense, energy, connectivity, and education. This will not only create economic viability but will also serve India’s strategic security needs.

The Scramble for Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in the world and is bound by the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. It has varied landforms, ranging from the Sahara Desert to the Congo and Nile River basins, the Atlas Mountains, and the Great Rift Valley.

If one traces the history of the continent, it underwent a theatrical series of events. The European colonial powers carried out a pen-and-paper division of Africa, more popularly known as the “Scramble for Africa”. What this means in effect is that the continent was divided without factoring in the culture, religion, language, food habits, or any such identity and was simply distributed according to the imperialist ambitions. The division lead to political havoc as communities got split over political national boundaries – an overlay of formal states over traditional societies. The people of Africa had absolutely no role to play in determining their fate. This remains a major key reason why Africa still struggles to develop a sort of feeling of citizenship within people.1 There is a lack of political identity and a feeling of belongingness.

The resultant effect of this great scramble was that the leadership in most of the African nations fell into the hands of elites. This was a group of people who had a close nexus with business activity, so much so that the welfare and development of the countrymen could never become the agenda of any political party. The World Bank Reports2 Around 60-70% of the wealth of Africa has been shifted to the banks in Europe and America. This has been affected as a result of political leaders engaging in relationships with foreign companies, in turn gaining their monetary leverage. The money however was never used for the welfare of the masses.

A pertinent question, therefore, arises as, to how a continent trapped in political and economic crisis could become an important player in the international arena, despite the challenges it faces.

Africa is a resource-rich continent. Africa harbours 90% of the world’s aluminium and the continent is rich in gold, diamonds, copper, mica, oil, flora, and fauna. Africa is the central landmass of the world and is roughly equidistant from all points. This makes it a prime destination for halt, serving as a point of refueling for ships and airplanes, it also has very lucrative ports which have deep running shorelines.

The African continent has always housed great potential but could never develop the means to exploit them. This is partly due to the reasons we saw above and partly because of the lack of scientific and technological innovation.3 The continent faces “Dutch disease” which has led to multiple regional conflicts and civil wars. Civil wars have broken out in Angola between 1975 and 2002 over oil and diamonds, the Congo Republic in 1997 over oil, the Congo Democratic Republic between 1996 and 1998 over copper, diamonds, gold, and coltan, Sudan in 1983 over oil, Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002 over diamonds. To explore the origin of these conflicts we must explore how global powers have plied their way up into the continent.

Washington Consensus versus Beijing Consensus

The above two mentioned names are the types of models suggested by the West and the East respectively for developing countries to prosper.

Economist John Williamson coined the term “Washington Consensus” in 1989, about a set of 10 market-oriented policies that were popular among Washington-based policy institutions, as policy prescriptions for improving economic performance in Latin American countries.4

The Washington model suggests the ideas of liberalism and freedom. It maintains that emerging economies can see fast growth if they integrate their markets globally and adhere to the guidelines of free and fair trade by the World Trade Organization (WTO). This has been a popular model ever since the United States of America emerged as the sole center of hegemony.

But slowly and gradually, the developing world realized that the WTO principles benefit the developed nations more. This led to the popularity of another model of development- known as the Beijing Consensus.

Beijing Consensus was an Eastern perspective on development proposed by China. It claims a bottom-up approach to growth by carrying out the developmental process through the indigenous population. The Beijing consensus strongly advocates the right of self-determination by the people and also factors in different ideals of development, which may not be strictly monetary.

For a lot of time, the West carried out developmental activities in Africa on the lines of the Washington model. It became unpopular as soon as the consciousness of being exploited rose within the people. Today, China remains a key player in Africa and was welcomed with arms wide open, owing to the ideas it suggested. But gradually, as the world saw, even the Beijing model largely transformed into a display of economic and military might, by building army bases, ports, and trade links in Africa.5 Beijing consensus too failed to provide what it promised, especially in terms of economic freedom and infrastructure development. This has led to loan-stricken countries subjected to debt distress through multilateral cooperation.6

India, on the other hand, is trading on a third approach, which is the use of soft power. It is this approach that we shall explore in the paper, by drawing a comparison with the cheque book diplomacy7 of China.

SINO-AFRICAN RELATIONS

The African continent is rich in oil and natural resources and is the world's fastest-growing region for FDI. The Sub- Saharan Africa is part of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. North Africa owns vast oil, natural gas deposits, strategic nuclear ore, and resources such as gold and copper. The region is untapped riches – be it oil, minerals, or land too vast - yet, it has struggled since colonial times to truly realize its potential. This kind of Golden potential that Africa presents makes it a very lucrative destination for foreign investment and each country is trying to win Africa.8 China has outmaneuvered every country in strategic calculations and has established a considerable amount of power in Africa and cultivated good relations.

China is investing in Africa to place the continent in a strategic spot. African countries have developed sound infrastructure with the help of the Chinese State. However, Beijing sees Africa as an ultimate source of raw materials to meet the ever-growing energy demands of China and support industrial and economic growth.

African countries on the other hand see partnering with China today as signing up with a future world superpower. In Africa, this alliance provides a strong psychological boost to the new African Elites. It gives them hope both economically and socially and lays a path, an example for what they may take as exemplars of the Sino-African future.

China is doing what is referred to as 'Cheque book diplomacy' in terms of International Relations. It refers to describe a foreign policy that blatantly uses/misuses economic aid, loans, and investment between countries to instill diplomatic favor in the minds of the receiver country.9 China is challenging the West in this and is trying to become the white colonial power that will be the messiah of a country ridden with poverty.

China has overpowered and occupied all over Africa, building railways, bridges, roads, and ports. China is doing this to gain access to a gigantic number of natural resources which can make the Chinese economy boom.

China’s second-largest source of crude oil imports is Africa. The Chinese business model is to link aid, trade, investment, and diplomacy in Africa which will involve extensive and vast infrastructure projects and granting of loans as a means to access the African natural resource base and furnish trade expansion. China’s “Go Out” policy, which was implemented in 1999 envisioned sending Chinese state-run companies to Africa, to coup out the spider web and control African states economically.10

China invests in Africa with state-owned companies; the companies can easily get loans and subsidies from the Chinese government. They have an edge in bid procurement and this leads to the development of the Chinese economy.

In recent years Sino- African relations have seen robust and high-level exchanges. Their economic ties have deepened as China made economic progress. But this is not philanthropic fiction. It is a sound business project created to make profits for investors and stakeholders. Loans and investments are not aid. Loans need to be serviced and repaid. A development bank is a bank with corporate interests to run and function viably, and not a charity or a protection haven.11 This is thus, not a mutually beneficial deal. Rather, it is taxing Africa twice. It is losing its resources and will repay the money to China. China is fulfilling the personal urgency of development in Africa.

According to Ted Bauman, senior analyst at Banyan Hill Publishing “Even though Africa is financed with Chinese loans and built with Chinese contractors and labor, most of these projects are designed to lock African countries into a long-term political and diplomatic relationship with China rather than to make money”. 12

The Mongolian Government agreed to not host Dalai Lama, whom the Chinese State views as inimical due to his views on Tibet. This is the success of the Cheque book diplomacy and this will encourage China to use more of it in the coming days. But this policy of China will not be feasible in the long run. China should not assume that all diplomatic difficulties and situations can be solved by using money. The way ahead is not that promising.

If and when the Chinese Economy falters, it will have to roll back funds, which will jeopardize a lot of relations so, continuing to gain political concessions through expanding outbound investment may not be sustainable.

China used the same policy to establish power in Bhutan and invested in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and more. But Bhutan did not bow down to the economic advancements made by China and made cordial relations with India.13 The result, as we can see, China has no presence in Bhutan and India remains a loyal friend of Bhutan.

India, on the other hand, has adopted a very different strategy. Indo- African relations have a history that is cherished and India is genuinely helping Africa and making it capable enough to tap its resources to be more self-sufficient.

INDO-AFRICAN RELATIONS

Indian engagement with Africa celebrates a unique past and is based on what PM Modi has called a “strong emotional link which is defined by our shared history of struggle against colonialism and our aspiration to bring prosperity to our people.” The factors that drive the Indo- African engagement are based on our shared challenges, common interests, and a relationship of mutual respect and benefit. Our shared history and cultural links and our present choices and opinions are all informed by our shared experiences of anti-colonial struggle, colonialism hardships of plunder and loot, and of apartheid and racial discrimination. The Gandhi- Nelson connection to South Africa still inspires youth across the globe to fight for their rights through nonviolent means.

India, despite having economic constraints has been a forerunner in voicing the interests of the developing countries across Asia and the globe. India took the initiative through the Bandung Declaration, (G-77) Group of 77, and the Non-Aligned Movement. People-to-People has furnished a large number of Indian-origin people to call Africa their home. India also provides a long-term, stable, and profitable market for the goods and services that Africa generates. Delhi also sees Africa as a potential partner for its energy and food security requirements.

This is a win-win situation for both countries. Indian investments in Africa are focused in the sectors of pharma, IT, engineering, education, health, agriculture, building resourceful projects like dams, and conducting interlinking projects to name a few.14 The common vision and approach to guide the mission statement to meet developmental challenges are to build a sustainable future together.

Both India and Africa have their unique developmental strategy and a story of both successes and failures. However, both regions face some common issues and threats and can together offer an answer to many issues confronting us in health and well-being of especially women and child health, food security and nutrition security, energy needs, climate change which includes rising water demands, and sanitation presents perhaps the mirror image both the region’s share in terms of demography, resource constraints, and disease burden; and how we can meet these challenges, especially through innovative solutions that India can offer.

Our partnership strategy is based on human resource development which includes skilling, re-skilling, and certification which means institutionalization of Africa and the establishment of education centers in partner countries of Africa.15 This thus will enhance the skills and capacities of the African population. India also offers concessional Lines of Credit which are tailored to the requirements of the African region and have the potential to serve their interests while ensuring that India does not just become another channel leading Africa into a debt trap-like scenario. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has announced another set of concessional credit of over $ 10 billion, over the next five years, in addition to the ongoing credit lines to Africa.

Indo-African cooperation stems from a shared perspective on terrorism, peace, and security-related issues and a convergence of views on matters of global concern.16Both India and Africa believe and vehemently oppose state-financed terrorism, and piracy and have coordinated positions at global forums over issues of UN reforms pertaining to UNSC being representative of present global needs and demography WTO, and Climate Change. Both countries reiterated the fact that reform of political, security, and economic institutions of global governance, include a meaningful expansion of the UN and related bodies.

Economic Partnership

The India-Africa economic partnership can be viewed with a promising future. Although currently it lags some way behind the diplomatic reciprocity India and African countries share. Africa had a trade surplus with India in the past but increasing two-way trade of goods and services across sectors calls for serious promotional measures as well as removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers. The government, Indian business, and African partners must devise an action plan that can take bilateral trade to $100 billion and investment to $75 billion by the end of 2023.

Prof. Sreeram Chaulia states “India cannot be clubbed in the same category as China, i.e., as a mineral- grabber that is out to plunder Africa and denude it of its vast natural wealth. The message sent out by the PM’s team ahead of his visit to the continent is that “we are not here to exploit” and “we want to be development partners.”

China has been showcasing its South-South cooperation model as a success in Africa. But the fact remains that Chinese policies lack the angle of human resource development, a transparent agreement towards sustainable growth, and a social factor i.e., commitment towards democratic partnership, means that India can have an indispensable place on the continent.

Whether this would be India’s answer to China’s BRI?

According to Rajiv Bhatia, “the honest answer is in the negative as the approaches of India and China towards Africa are essentially different. China concentrates on infrastructure and "cheque- book diplomacy" ("Debt-Trap Diplomacy"), whereas India focuses on the development of Africa’s human resources. China goes solo, while India is desirous of working with other willing nations to assist Africa as per the latter’s priorities.”

The Indian enlightened approach towards Africa offers “limitless possibilities” for Indo- African cooperation to prosper into something meaningful. However, it should be recognized that India and Japan do not have the luxury of time given China’s rapidly increasing footprint in Africa in terms of socio-politico-economic aspects. India is committed to a voluntary partnership that is rather not “prescriptive” in means and ends.

There’s a need to immediately initiate a few joint pilot projects involving the companies of India, Japan, and a few African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mozambique in identified areas such as health, education, skilling, and blue economy.17

It is therefore, even more pertinent that results of this fruit-bearing partnership between Japan, India, and Africa come up with visible results in the short term as questions may arise about the credibility of the joint partnership.

CONCLUSION

Africa today is certainly a continent of growth and vast opportunities. With a young, the fastest growing youth population in the world and considerable natural resources and human capital at its disposal, Africa is poised to be a significant growth factor in the global economy. Positive winds of change are sweeping across the continent, which is now home to half of the top ten fastest-growing economies of the world. So, Africa is an opportunity and Asia’s two largest economies, India and China have been trying to tap into this emerging African opportunity. Both are shaping new narratives of engagement with Africa and it is important to highlight the differences in their methods of implementation and the impact that it has generated on the lives of common Africans.

The Chinese approach to aid partnerships with African countries is more traditional as it focuses on resource extraction, infrastructure development, and elite-level wealth creation. Such an emphasis on more traditional forms of aid through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on hard infrastructure projects might appear lucrative on the surface to many developing and small African countries as it helps them with quick and easy money, such an approach is not sustainable in the long run.18

Even more alarmingly, the opacity of the costs and terms of Chinese loans makes it difficult for countries to conduct risk assessments of the projects. While Chinese projects seem to serve the quest of African nations to build a sound infrastructure, a closer investigation reveals that they serve Beijing’s ambitions to write the rules of the next stage of globalization.19 Chinese interest in Africa is geopolitical and not merely an economic investment.

But the main area of concern is that these investments help to bind countries to China politically, and through debt obligations create a form of leverage.

Moreover, there have been multiple apprehensions over Chinese labor practices, often viewed as unfair, with various cases reported of poor and harsh working conditions. The types of dangerous labor conditions typically include cases of low salaries below the minimum wage standards, language barriers, unfair termination of contracts, lack of holidays, medical care, insurance, and other benefits.

On the other hand, India’s relationship with Africa is based on a model of cooperation which is responsive to the needs of African countries. “It is demand-driven and free of conditionalities. It is based on our history of friendship, historical ties, and a sense of deep solidarity. As Prime Minister has also underlined, African priorities are our priorities,” pointed out T.S. Tirumurti in his speech.20

The trilateral partnership between India, Africa, and Japan has considerable potential. India is also helping the African countries to bridge the digital divide by launching the 2nd phase of the Pan Africa e-Network project: e-Vidhya Bharati and e- Arogya Bharati Network Project (E-VBAB) which aims to provide 6 years of free tele-education to 5000 students, free medical education to 2000 doctors/nurses/paramedics as well as free medical consultancy to 1000 patients across the wide network of partner countries in Africa.

Thus, India’s bilateral ties with African countries can best be defined by the spirit of “developing together as equals.” Indian engagement emphasizes the long term, unlike China because India’s focus is on enhancing Africa’s productive capacity, diversifying skills and knowledge as well as investing in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Even though India and Africa’s economic relations are modest as compared to China, India has many advantages including proximity and popularity of Indian soft culture and the appeal for democracy in Africa. Our most prominent example of sustainable development partnership is reflected under International Solar Alliance (ISA) since Africa has taken a leadership role in solar expansion with 25 member-states out of the total 48 countries to ratify the agreement. Under this initiative, India has pledged more than US$ 1 billion for implementing off-grid solar energy projects in Africa, especially in West African countries in an attempt to diversify its focus within Africa. Also, with the enunciation of the Ten Guiding Principles for India Africa Engagement in July 2018,21 the Indian Government has addressed the primary concern of not having a coherent Africa policy.

One can then say that the buzzword is “South-South cooperation.” African leaders see the advantages of the Indian suitor who does not shower them with billions but who helps them help themselves. But what is required today, to establish stronger ties is for India to speed up its act. This is because China delivers before it announces a project while India announces and often doesn't deliver for years. For example- in Nov 2002, former Prime Minister of India Late Shri. A.B. Vajpayee had declared $500 million as part of lines of credit to Africa but, later nothing had moved, leaving a vacuum between the two countries.

So, India's high commissioner to South Africa, Rajiv Bhatia has rightly said, "We have to work on every possible opportunity, pursue it, cash it, and create new opportunities."

Nonetheless, India has a high reputation in Africa while China is being seen increasingly as a selfish and extractive power. India must not traverse the Chinese path in Africa. Also, India must not lose sight of Africa again. India needs to remember and follow- "One does not forget old friends!"

End Notes

1. Although Africa is a large continent and “people of Africa” is not appropriate to generalize them all, it is simply used to convey the common series of events they went through before getting compartmentalized into different countries.

2. (“World Development Report” 1983)

3. (House 2022)

4. (Williamson, 2004)

5. (Kennedy, 2010)

6. (House 2022)

7. Cheque book diplomacy is used to describe a foreign policy that openly uses economic aid and investment between countries to curry diplomatic favor. The Chinese have either deployed “intimidation” or their famed cheque book diplomacy to “win” over other nations for their aims and agendas.

8. (Adams 2020)

9. (Green 2018)

10. (Shepard and Danise 2019)

11. (Fantu 2012)

12. (Mishra 2019)

13. (Fantu 2012)

14. (Mishra 2019)

15. (Choudhary 2019)

16. (Beri 2021)

17. (Joshi 2018)

18. (Maru 2019)

19. (Mboce 2019)

20. This speech was delivered on the occasion of Africa Day at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses. T.S. Tirumurti is the Secretary (Economic Relations) at the Ministry of External Affairs, India. He is in charge of India’s ties with Africa.

21. PM Narendra Modi outlined the vision for not just a bilateral relationship with Africa but also a partnership at the global level in his speech at the Ugandan Parliament.

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