China Tells Japan To Stay Off Its Second Continent, Africa

After drawing a red line for Japan in the South China Sea last June,China is now telling Japan to stay off its second continent, Africa. Ideologically that is.

In a recent statement, following the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) held in Kenya, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Japan of “attempting to impose its will on African countries to gain selfish interests and drive a wedge between China and African countries.” 

In essence, China is telling Japan to stay off Africa, its “second continent” (to use Howard W. French’s term).

China’s and Japan’s race to expand their presence in Africa is good news for investors, as it will help Africa’s frontier economies like Nigeria and Kenya catch up with emerging markets of Asia  and Latin America in a globalizing world. 

But it could be bad news for Africa if it ends up as another form of colonialism that exploits rather than develops the resource rich continent.

For years, globalization – the increasing integration and interdependence of national and local markets – skipped Africa. For a number of reasons: poor infrastructure, low income, and political instability — to mention but a few.