'China pays special attention to Lesotho'

By Tsitsi Matope

MASERU- China went through a number of ups and downs in the 4000-plus years of its modern history, an experience analysts believe could have led to its people's resilient and daring nature.  

The East Asian nation has since emerged as one of the most influential countries on the African continent and beyond - and quietly become a global economic giant.

But with China's intentions in Africa largely misunderstood, could it be the Chinese are looking at exploiting the continent's resources in a Second Scramble for Africa as put by some of her detractors? Could there be a grain of truth in claims that China wants to colonise the continent in exactly the same way European powers did when they invaded Africa in what became known as the The Scramble for Africa?

Now arguably surpassing the United States in the manufacturing sector, China has ceased to be the small and struggling mate from the Far East and become a major player in most African countries' economies.

Cool at the surface, the Chinese boil underneath with fierce ambition, often misunderstood as masking hidden agendas. However, according to China's Charge d'affaires and Counsellor to Lesotho, Mr. Lai Bo, the Chinese want the same thing that every other person is looking for, which is economic development.

Their way of life and culture could have been misunderstood by some countries, but the Chinese are honest, hardworking people, Mr. Lai told Public Eye in an interview on Monday this week.

Mr. Lai-who moved to Lesotho last October- emphasised China's quest for development was however, not based on invading other people's countries, bulldozing citizens and milking their economies. "In Lesotho, the sky and land belong to the Basotho. The Chinese community is grateful to the Basotho for they are embraced by the Basotho.

We are a respectful people who follow the procedures and regulations of the various countries that we settle in. If we want to set up businesses, we enquire about everything, including salaries, labour laws in those countries and the people's culture."

But there could be individuals who might be having other ideas and these 'bad apples', according to Mr. Lai, were dealt with once reported to embassies in different countries.  The Chinese, he explained, were after investment based on a win-win system.

"We want to benefit and also expect Lesotho to benefit from us. We work hard together and share the fruits of our labour; it's a simple concept."  Mr. Lai noted the Chinese had something in common with the Africans, which was a belief that to live like a horse, one had to work like a donkey.

 "It has not been an easy road for us. Just like many African countries, we have not inherited mountains of money that would sustain many generations. We have no history of amassing such kind of wealth through unscrupulous ways. We work for everything."

A country of more than 1,3billion people, competition for resources is tight in China, where the economy is now driven by internal and external demand and investment. But despite its many success stories and booming economy, China has remained largely poor with up to 100 million of its population living below the poverty datum line.

Up to 75 percent of the people are farmers living in the rural provinces, while the unemployment rate is 4,2 percent. The job market has, over the years, not been able to absorb all university graduates, a concern that gave President Hu Jintao a lot of headaches.

China's high energy, sense of urgency and advanced technical minds, have also created pressures on various systems, which Mr. Lai said were still being adjusted to meet the demands of the new age. This had also seen the government opting for the conservative route, which sought to spread the resources among its people.

But the urge to develop and modernise the economy had also brought negative attention to China, which is now rated one of the largest greenhouse gas-emitters in the world. Whether it might be"politics" to slow down the Chinese economy, Lai said his country had taken the"common but differentiated" route.

Said Mr. Lai: "China has a role to play in the fight for a healthy climate. This is a common understanding in all countries. However, we also know that the West has largely contributed to what we are suffering now because of the uncontrolled emissions during its industrialisation. We believe they have a different and much bigger role to play in terms of injecting more resources for the implementation of cleaner technologies in the developing world that also needs to grow its economies."

Many in China have since mastered opportunities usually never present themselves, but are created, which has resulted in their venturing into different countries.

 Nonetheless, Mr. Lai said China considered Africa as a special friend and close ally."Our government supports that we also do a lot of developmental work in Africa. We feel strongly about Africa owing to the support it gave us when we attained a seat in the United Nations in the early 70s. Africa has also stood by us on many platforms and made the voice from the developing world much stronger," he said. But that is not all; China pays special attention to Lesotho, he said. There are more than 5000 Chinese mainly in the textile and retail business in Lesotho.  According to Mr. Lai, relations with Lesotho have gone from strength to strength, especially since 1994.

This, he said, has seen the Chinese getting involved in the construction and agro-based industries, green technologies such as wind power and health sector, among others.

 "We still need to do more projects in Lesotho and these include diverse exchange programmes and offering scholarships to afford local students the opportunity to further their studies in China." This, he highlighted, was not a marriage of convenience, adding many Chinese nationals have been living in the country for decades and become naturalised citizens.

 "This demonstrates the love we have for Lesotho, a feeling we would want to harness and strengthen to make way for more cooperation in many different economic and social spheres."