Written by Joshua Kurlantzick, visiting scholar in the Carnegie Endowment’s China Program, from Time:
As the political crisis in Zimbabwe spirals into bloodshed and chaos, its ruler, Robert Mugabe, seems to have endless tricks up his sleeve. Already he has stalled an election after probably losing the first round, used the state-controlled press to divert attention to the chronic issue of land control, and apparently had thugs beat opposition supporters. But one of his strategies seems likely to fail. In mid-April, South Africa’s Transport Workers Union refused to unload a shipment of Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe.
As this aborted arms shipment suggests, China’s African honeymoon appears to be over. When President Hu Jintao embarked upon his first trip there, in 2004, African nations, flush with the romance of a first date, fell over themselves in welcome. China inked deal after deal: a $2.3 billion stake in a Nigerian offshore petroleum field; a $1.5 billion pact to upgrade Ethiopia’s telecom system; massive investments in Angola, now China’s largest source of oil imports. China won diplomatic victories, too, getting Chad, Malawi and Senegal to switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing in just the past three years. And in 2006, Beijing hosted a triumphant follow-up summit with nearly every African leader.
