Of late, there is a great influx of Chinese in Africa. Does China carry the master-key that will finally unlock Africa's economic potential? It's just over six years, since China unveiled its new policy on Africa. The symbolism of the timing couldn't have been more significant: The announcement coincided with the 50th anniversary of the first diplomatic ties between the “world's largest developing country and the continent with the largest number of developing countries.” This was followed by a summit of African heads of state in Beijing, where the leaders signed a declaration establishing what they described as a “new type of strategic partnership.”

President Hu Jintao in a recent summit unveiled the $1 billion China-Africa Development Fund (expected to rise to $5 billion) aimed at promoting economic cooperation between Africa and China by investing directly in Chinese enterprises which have set up operations in Africa or plan to invest in Africa. The massive package also included concessionary loans, financial aid, and some debt cancellation.

Since then, the emerging superpower has become a dominant force on this continent. From South Africa to Sierra Leone, China’s footprints can be found in almost 50 of Africa's 54 countries. In the last three years, China has given more loans to Africa than the World Bank. The past decade, trade between China and the continent has increased more than six-fold to $120bn in 2011, making Africa China's largest trade partner. But this "investment" is expected to be US$200bn in 2020.

China is open and unapologetic about its strategic objectives in Africa. It is hungry for Africa's natural resources and has already secured deals for oil, minerals and trade amongst others. As well as its declared interest to tap into Africa's unsaturated markets for its manufactured goods, Beijing is also seeking to expand its global influence with the diplomatic help of African countries. If further evidence of China's statement of intent were required, then it came in the form a magnificent $200 million African Union (AU) headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa - funded and constructed by China as a gift to the AU.

China is also deploying massive human and capital investment into infrastructure developments in several African countries. At present, Ethiopia, DRC, Kenya, Ghana and Sierra Leone are all beneficiaries of major road projects supported by China. However, while China's renewed activities in Africa have been applauded by many African leaders as an alternative to Western economic and political dominance, not everyone is comfortable with the so-called "partnership."

Indeed what China is doing in Africa now is similar to what Britain did 150 years ago. Almost all African nations got independence from foreigners less than 100 years ago. Before that, colonizers followed the same path the Chinese are following today to get into Africa. They settled Africa and when a reasonable number of them had done so, they colonized the owners of the land. There will be an estimated 600 million Chinese in Africa in the next 20 years. With the help of China, which is currently very powerful economically, the number will be large enough to colonize Africa for the second time with great ease. Why is Africa abandoning the West? There is no doubt that the West is keen on denouncing undemocratic practices and human right abuses in most African Nations. That partly explains why African leaders are fleeing to China. They want to escape the enormous pressure to end the dictatorship, human rights abuses and the rampant corruption which have seen many Africans languish in poverty.With such a trend, all the achievements in Africa in terms of democracy and human rights respect may be reversed. The visit of Sudan President Bashir to China despite the indictment by the ICC is a sign of things to come. Fundamentally the Chinese re-entry in Africa is part of the New World Order where there is a struggle for global economic supremacy and access to Africa's raw materials. China has overtaken Germany as the world's biggest exporter and they are on their way to being the world's largest economy - all the more reason why they need Africa's raw materials. Furthermore the Chinese "interest" in Africa is purely for the survival and economic interest of the Chinese and not the economic emancipation of Africa.

By Okwaro Oscar Plato

The author [email protected] is an analyst with Quadz Africa Consulting. The views expressed are solely of the author.