Finding The “Lost Continent”
Global Finance Magazine ran a very interesting article this month regarding the growing competition for a stake in the future African economy. For those of you who may be unaware, I also write for the SmarterMarkets Blog, and this very subject was the debut blog post of that site. Global Finance’s article about Africa gives me my second “I told you so” moment this week 
Africa has long been the forgotten continent. Despite enormous wealth in resources, it has historically been blighted by the legacy of colonialism, political corruption and economic mismanagement. Now Africa has been rediscovered: China and India are leading the way in tapping the continent’s commodity wealth and fueling a boom in trade. Meanwhile, economic reform is helping to increase domestic consumption—raising hopes that Africa may enjoy consistent, long-term growth.
Nevertheless, India’s goal is—like China’s—to substantially increase trade, to secure resources and to boost its global influence. India is already heavily dependent on foreign oil, importing 11% of its oil from Nigeria, and is predicted by the International Energy Agency to become the world’s largest net importer of oil by 2025.
Despite its late arrival to the competition, India has a competitive edge over China: ethnic Indians in Africa. A result of English colonialism, India enjoys a deeper connection to Africa.
Recent troubles in Zimbabwe (a country that fairly exemplifies Africa’s problems) are proof that the political and cultural status quo will delay the economic development of Africa indefinitely. Even China can’t tap into Africa’s natural resources if the continent is in a constant state of conflict. Both India and China are looking forward to an emerging middle class in Africa to purchase their exports. But with an official inflation rate of 164,900% in Zimbabwe, this simply won’t materialize.
These issues will give rise to a fundamental change in Chinese foreign policy in the remaining years of this decade. In the past, China has had a “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil” policy regarding the internal governance of the rest of the world. However, China’s continued stability is strongly dependent on its economic growth. Global economic instability caused by the US is threatening China’s continued economic stability, accelerating its strategic intent in Africa. China will begin to show increased interest in the policital stability of African nations, first through diplomacy, then with its growing military power. LIke the US, China will begin to project its power onto the world to ensure economic stability. This shift in Chinese foreign policy will be welcomed in Africa, but will be the swan song of US global economic growth.
[...] Finding The “Lost Continent” Despite its late arrival to the competition, India has a competitive edge over China: ethnic Indians in Africa. A result of English colonialism, India enjoys a deeper connection to Africa. Recent troubles in Zimbabwe (a country that … [...]
[...] » Keygen for adobe cs3 master collection Announced Articles & Press Releases wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Global Finance Magazine ran a very interesting article this month regarding the growing competition for a stake in the future African economy. For those of you who may be unaware, I also write for the SmarterMarkets Blog, and this very subject was the debut blog post of that site. Global Finance’s article about Africa gives me my second “I told you so” moment this week Africa has long been the forgotten continent. Despite enormous wealth in resources, it has historically been blighted by [...]
Congratulations on your “I told you so” moment.
I read this with mixed feelings: is it necessary for the US to cause economic instability in one country to gain stability in its own? Or, is our instability being caused by our current President and Congress?
I know this is a very emotionally charged topic for many. Honestly, I do not think that this administration has handled economic issues with more or less than others. The US has pursued a very short-sighted economic policy since the “Great Depression”. Current issues like “Big Government”, entitlement programs and Social Security were all supposed to be temporary measures to pull the US economy out of chaos. Temporary became permanent because we had leaders too weak to make long-term decisions.
The trillions of US Dollars that are currently on the market didn’t get there entirely during the Bush administration…