This article is an edited extract from China Shakes the World: The Rise of a Hungry Nation written by James Kynge, former Beijing bureau chief for the Finanacial Times. From Business in Africa Online:
… They call it ‘pragmatism’. But before getting into that, some balance is required. It must be said that from a global perspective, China’s emergence is of enormous economic benefit. The value created by the release of 400 million people from poverty, the migration of over 120 million from farms to factories where they churn out electronics, the quantum leap in educational standards for tens of millions of children, the construction of first world infrastructure, the growth of over forty cities with populations of over one million, the commercialisation of housing and the vaulting progress up the technology ladder have helped unleash one of the greatest ever surges in general prosperity. The prime beneficiary of this is China itself, but the mobilisation of wealth on such a scale is necessarily, in aggregate terms, lifting the fortunes of the planet.
Regionally, however, the benefits are unevenly spread. Generally, the countries that have gained most are those that are rich in energy and other resources but do little in the way of manufacturing. Africa has seen particular advantages. Trade between China and the countries on the African continent has tripled in the last three years and helped power a boom that was expected to carry African growth to its highest level in thirty years. [Full Text]
