China's Role in Africa
China is a better partner than the West.
I agree with the statement that the continent needs a “huge infrastructure boom” that “the West is not capable nor do they have the appetite” for; thus, “infrastructure is where we need to see more Chinese involvement.” The video goes on to explain that the reason that the Chinese should be at the forefront is because over “80 million low skill manufacturing jobs” are leaving the Chinese main land. Thus, African countries need to position themselves in a way that allows them to capture these jobs. He argues that many countries, and the continent as a whole has done a poor job in building their manufacturing sectors in a way that is accessible to foreign businesses. This means that even though millions of low skill jobs are leaving China they are not going to Africa. Instead, they are going to other regions in Asia that are more suited politically and economically to host these new industries. As labor costs rise in China, more and more jobs will outsourced to other regions. However, Africa is unlikely to see the benefits of this because of issues of corruption and working codes that limit companies’ interest in outsourcing to the region. However, the video suggests that Ethiopia and South Africa have done a good job in pulling these types of jobs. Richard Poplak asks “do you want these low skill, poorly paid jobs?” If the answer to this question is yes, the continent as a whole needs to find ways to build up their manufacturing sectors. They need to find ways to create systems where locals and the nation are willing to support systems that pull in the jobs that are leaving China. Additionally, I fully agree with the second part of the statement that the West does not have the appetite to provide these jobs for a couple of reasons. First, I think that the West does not have the type of industries that can be easily exported to Africa. They have already gone through that stage in their development. They outsourced all of their low income jobs to places like China, and they have less of an interest in accessing cheap labor. The majority of the goods produced by the West are intellectual. Thus, they are positioned in a way that limits their ability to help the continent grow economically. China, however, is at the point where they are looking for new places to outsource to. This means that China is significantly more capable and interested in developing new infrastructure.
I agree with the statement that the continent needs a “huge infrastructure boom” that “the West is not capable nor do they have the appetite” for; thus, “infrastructure is where we need to see more Chinese involvement.” The video goes on to explain that the reason that the Chinese should be at the forefront is because over “80 million low skill manufacturing jobs” are leaving the Chinese main land. Thus, African countries need to position themselves in a way that allows them to capture these jobs. He argues that many countries, and the continent as a whole has done a poor job in building their manufacturing sectors in a way that is accessible to foreign businesses. This means that even though millions of low skill jobs are leaving China they are not going to Africa. Instead, they are going to other regions in Asia that are more suited politically and economically to host these new industries. As labor costs rise in China, more and more jobs will outsourced to other regions. However, Africa is unlikely to see the benefits of this because of issues of corruption and working codes that limit companies’ interest in outsourcing to the region. However, the video suggests that Ethiopia and South Africa have done a good job in pulling these types of jobs. Richard Poplak asks “do you want these low skill, poorly paid jobs?” If the answer to this question is yes, the continent as a whole needs to find ways to build up their manufacturing sectors. They need to find ways to create systems where locals and the nation are willing to support systems that pull in the jobs that are leaving China. Additionally, I fully agree with the second part of the statement that the West does not have the appetite to provide these jobs for a couple of reasons. First, I think that the West does not have the type of industries that can be easily exported to Africa. They have already gone through that stage in their development. They outsourced all of their low income jobs to places like China, and they have less of an interest in accessing cheap labor. The majority of the goods produced by the West are intellectual. Thus, they are positioned in a way that limits their ability to help the continent grow economically. China, however, is at the point where they are looking for new places to outsource to. This means that China is significantly more capable and interested in developing new infrastructure.
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